What Fools These Mortals Be
by Ahvienda
Summary: Cloud Strife and Sephiroth are living on different continents, living very different lives. Is having one thing in common enough to strike a spark? Well then, how about two things? Kinda AU (especially at first), rated M for good reasons, warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1 -- It's a GOOD Day

**Chapter 1 – It's a **_**Good**_** Day!**

**Warnings: If you read my last FFVII story, you know the drill – yaoi sex, filthy language, adult situations – yippee!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I profit from, Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. Still!**

Costa Del Sol. Voted the number two vacation destination by the most recent poll in _Consumer Retorts_, the weekly ShinRa Company magazine. (The number one vacation destination is, of course, the Golden Saucer. Gambling, an awesome sky ride, fireworks, _and_ a haunted hotel? No mere beach could compete with that.) Cloud Strife had plenty of time to read _Consumer Retorts_ every week, as he usually had plenty of time between tricks. In the same issue with the poll, there was an article by Rue Willoughby titled, "Monopolies … Are They Really That Bad?" And an article by Xenophyliis T. Smith entitled, "The Men of ShinRa: Flesh and Fantasy". Now _that_ was a really good one. Cloud had developed quite the crush on Tseng, the head of the Turks, after reading that article and pouring over the accompanying pictures. What a hottie! Stern … all that long, black hair … _gawd_. He was just Cloud's type.

Giving a bored sigh, Cloud tossed the magazine aside and glanced at the clock. His latest 'date' was late. Par for the course in this fucked-up place. He could feel bass booming through the walls, from the karaoke rooms next door, like a muffled heartbeat in a horror movie. He stood up and stretched, straightening the stand-up collar on the jacket he was wearing. His next customer had requested he wear a schoolboy uniform … oh, _boy_. Can't wait to see what kind of perv was going to show up _this_ time. If he even came at all, which happened roughly 3 out of 10 times. Guys who lost their nerve at the last minute, he supposed. Whatever, the room was free, he could read _Consumer Retorts_ and drink all the soda in the mini-fridge, and he could listen to music if he wanted. It was all good.

Cloud had been working in the sex industry since a couple weeks after he'd arrived in Costa Del Sol, arriving in the resort town with just a few gil left in his pocket and the clothes in his small, battered suitcase. But here's the trouble with resort towns: yeah, they're fun, they look like a fantasy-land, people are happy, there's lots to do – but only if you have _money_. Cloud found a job in a convenience store near the beach (_every_where was near the beach in Costa Del Sol!), but it was only part-time and didn't pay enough to cover rent in even the cheapest places. So when he'd been approached by the owner of the karaoke bar, he'd jumped at the chance. _With_ the stipulation that he only serviced guys. He was no _regulation_ host - forced to fawn over women, kissing their painted toenails and trying to get them to spring for a bottle of Dom Perignon … no fuckin' thanks! Cloud was as gay as gay could be. He was a switch, too, so he could give it or take it, either way, he liked it all and could perform either role with equal fervor. He liked men and he liked sex. The money was damn good. And he didn't have a boyfriend. So why not.

He checked his appearance in the mirrors that lined the walls of the private karaoke room. Slender but with nice musculature … a little on the short side, but if he was too tall he couldn't work the uke angle as well. Handsome face, if he said so himself, with startling blue eyes that he didn't have to wear colored contacts to brighten up. His eyes and his hair were his best features, he had decided long ago, and they were what got him the most attention. Today his hair was parted and held in place on both side with hair clips. The back spiked out a little no matter what, but he actually really did look like some school kid. _Great_. Perfect. _Perfect for the perv_. The thought made him giggle.

A knock at the door startled him out of his reverie. Time to get to work! He went to the door and unlocked it, opened it, and bowed as he hung onto the doorknob. "Sensei," he said, taking a chance based on the schoolboy uni, "Please … won't you come in?" His voice was soft and light, youthful. Legs walked hesitantly past him – he could see shiny black shoes and dress pants from his bowing position. Cloud straightened up and shut the door, turning the lock. His customer cleared his throat, then said hesitantly, "Uh, hello … young man. I, uh … look, I haven't done this before, I—"

Cloud stepped forward, knowing what his role was here. He kept his eyes downcast. "S-Sensei … haven't done what before? I … I don't understand." Tremulous, puzzled … perfect. _Perfect for the perv. Dammit, don't laugh!_ Cloud kept the inner humor off his face, kept his eyes lowered, his hands clasped in front of his crotch.

"W-Well … I, um … well." More throat-clearing, then a gasp … then silence. It stretched out for a while.

"Um … Sensei?"

"STRIFE?" Loud, slightly hysterical.

Cloud looked up. He was startled for a second, then his face broke into a smile. A slightly sardonic smile, but a smile nonetheless. "Sensei!" he said. He stepped closer. "Yoshi-sensei! It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Tatamine-sensei. First name Yoshi. Science teacher at Nibelheim High … wow, this was really taking Cloud back. Who knew the guy was into stuff like this? He'd never let on, Cloud couldn't remember the older man's eyes ever lingering on him in class or anything. And … he was _married._ Oh, this was getting interesting. Still, he was a good-looking guy, Cloud had even noticed it back when he was Tatamine-sensei's student.

"D-don't call me by my first name, S-Strife," the teacher said, recovering slightly.

"But Tatamine-sensei," Cloud said, coming closer. "I'm here at your request." He now stood directly in front of the teacher. "This is a happy reunion, right?" He knew his fresh scent had to be wafting up into Sensei's nostrils – Cloud always made sure he was fresh and clean, every inch, inside and out, for every customer. (Hey, he had standards, okay? Got a problem with that? GFY.) "Did you used to watch me, Sensei? When I was your student?" He leaned in even closer, looking up into the older man's eyes guilelessly, breathing through parted lips.

Sensei had broken into a sweat. Yes, he'd watched Cloud when he was his student. Who didn't? He was beyond cute, he was _beautiful_ in a way that few boys were. Flawless pale skin, cupid's-bow lips, and those _eyes_ – large and faceted blue, you felt like you could lose yourself in them. Slender, almost girlish back then, Sensei had pleasured himself to thoughts of Cloud numerous times. But the thought that he'd ever, _ever_ get to act on any of that? Never! No way!

"Sensei … aren't you happy to see me?" Cloud asked, looking up at him with those eyes. A smile curved soft, coral-pink lips. "Look … I'm here. I'm ready. It can be just what you want. All you have to do … is pay." He leaned forward, laying his head on the older man's chest. "Sensei," he said, his arms creeping around the teacher's waist.

Tatamine was torn, frightened, worried, anxious … but horribly, horribly aroused. His dick knew exactly what it wanted. Pressing insistently against the front of his trousers, it was straining the tensile strength of his zipper. When Cloud snuggled in closer with his whole body, it was pressing lovingly against the boy's … er, the smaller man's belly. Tatamine shuddered.

Cloud felt it. And smiled. It was working like a charm.

"H-How much?" An audible click as he swallowed with a dry mouth.

"For 5000 gil, you can have me all night," Cloud said, offering the banquet rate first. He raised his head and unwrapped his arms from Sensei's waist, pulled the suit coat off of him. Cloud knew victory when it waggled its dick at him!

"I … I can't stay all night," Tatamine said, swallowing hard again. He couldn't take his eyes off of Cloud.

"Then for 1000 gil, you can have me for 4 hours," Cloud said, burying his face in Sensei's chest, practically purring. "How long do you want me for, Tatamine-sensei?"

"Ah!" Sensei gasped as Cloud nibbled on a nipple, through the starched shirt. His fingers were unknotting the teacher's tie. "Two … two hours is all I have, Cloud-kun," Tatamine said, shivering a bit when Cloud suckled that nipple through the material, as his tie was slowly pulled off his neck.

"500 gil then … but that doesn't buy everything, Sensei," Cloud explained as he began unbuttoning the man's shirt. "We couldn't … you couldn't … " he pretended to blush, with downcast eyes, biting his lip. Even without the color, it was impressive!

"Couldn't?" Sensei said, his hands coming up to fall lightly onto Cloud's shoulders. He groaned audibly when Cloud licked his chest, lightly, like a cat.

"C-Couldn't … go all the way!" Cloud finished in a rush. He buried his face in Sensei's stomach, acting like he was too embarrassed to show his expression.

"How much more?" Tatamine-sensei asked … clearly falling for Cloud's acting. He was a bit more assured now, the seme in him was rearing its head … and having your old heart's desire fall so deliciously into your hands – out of the blue! – is something few men can resist.

"J-just one hundred more gil, Tatamine-sensei!" Cloud said breathlessly, clutching the man's shirt in both hands.

"Done," Sensei said. Cloud kept his face hidden while the teacher got out his wallet and counted out the bills, slipping them into the lockbox built in underneath the table for just that purpose, after Cloud breathlessly pointed out its existence. "Now, Cloud … show Sensei your sweet face," he said, tilting Cloud's face upward with one fingertip. When Cloud did so, Sensei kissed his lips bruisingly and stepped around behind him, keeping hold of his shoulders. "Close your eyes, Strife-kun," the man said. "Pretend you're on the train, on your way to school."

Oh, great … he was a closet train-molester, too! Oh, well. Not like he hadn't played this little scene out before, it was just surprising to find out that his old teacher was into this shit. So Cloud stood there, holding a stack of magazines like it was his schoolbooks, and startled as a stealthy hand crept under his long school jacket and rubbed his cock through the front of his pants. "No," he whispered softly. "No … stop …."

"Shhh," came a soft voice in his ear. "You don't want people to see this, do you? Hold still and be a good boy." Rubbing more insistently now, another hand slid under Cloud's jacket and began caressing his nipples through his shirt.

"Nn," Cloud gave a little subvocalized moan under his breath. "Please … please stop," he whispered, eyes still closed.

"But look … your body is more honest," Sensei said, undoing Cloud's belt and sliding his hand down inside his pants. He clutched Cloud's dick – which, thankfully, was hard (gotta go along with the script!) – and caressed it while his breath began to gust into Cloud's right ear. "Oh, yeah … what a good boy you are," the man breathed.

_Jesus_, Cloud thought. But his cock was enjoying the attention, so he went with it, starting to squirm as the pleasure built up. Tatamine-sensei stroked him off, pressing his cock against Cloud's backside, and when Cloud came bashfully, with his hands over his mouth and his eyes squeezed tightly shut, uttering little whimpers of pleasure, Sensei came too – all over the inside of his dress pants. Cloud had to stifle his giggles.

When it was time to get down and dirty – Cloud still mostly dressed in the school uniform, his pants down around his ankles – Sensei insisted on using a condom, almost acting like he was doing Cloud a favor. Inside, Cloud was rolling his eyes. If Yoshi-sensei hadn't insisted on one, Cloud would have. No-one was sticking their cock in _either_ of Cloud's wet holes without a raincoat on, thank you very much!

Soon he was leaning forward, hands on the desk, gasping for breath and uttering things like, "More! More, Sensei!" and trying not to snap at the man for pulling his hair. But soon it really _was_ feeling good, the hands gripping his buttocks, pulling them apart, the medium-sized dick pistoning in and out of his ass. Surprisingly, Tatamine-sensei was good at finding and then striking Cloud's prostate gland, and when Cloud came he was truly shouting with pleasure. Cloud Strife _liked _sex. And with a little imagination, there was no such thing as "bad" sex.

Sensei stroked Cloud's dick, milking all the cum out of it, as his own seed poured out of him into the condom. "Yes! Cloud-kun! Nnh!" he groaned. This had been awesome! His favorite fantasies, fulfilled by the last person on Gaia that Yoshi had thought he'd ever have a chance with. Amazing. Astounding. He … he would want more, he thought, panting.

Afterwards, as Cloud cleaned him up, kneeling between his legs as Sensei lolled on the couch, he said, "Cloud-kun … can I see you again? The next time I come to Costa Del Sol?" He reached out to pet Cloud's hair – now escaped from the hair clips and springing up into its customary spikes.

Cloud smiled at him. "Of course, Tatamine-sensei. All you have to do is go to the website and request me. Ask for CS. Okay?"

"I will," the older man murmured. And he would. This was too good to pass up! "Perhaps … I should be able to come back in two weeks. Will you be available?"

"Book me early," Cloud said, smiling again. He had amassed quite a few 'regulars' since he'd started in the trade. "And if you have any special requests, you can put them in the comments section. All right, Sensei?" He finished washing off Sensei's penis and scrotum, dried him with a fluffy towel, held out his hand to help the man up, and straightened all his clothing, including the tie.

"Such care you take, Cloud-kun. I like it," Tatamine said. He pulled Cloud into his arms.

Cloud resisted for a split second, then relaxed into the embrace. Call it public relations. _Pubic relations_, his traitorous mind supplied, and Cloud was only barely able to stifle his giggle. It was all part of the package.

"Someone like you … you must have a lover or a special someone, Cloud-kun," Sensei said as he straightened up and shot his cuffs. "How does he feel about this work?" He sounded truly curious.

"Nah … no-one like that, Sensei," Cloud said, smiling. "I don't have time for stuff like that." They walked to the door, Cloud put his hand on the doorknob.

"Well … that's a shame," Sensei said, although he sounded kinda glad. "I'll see you again soon, Cloud-kun." He leaned in for a kiss and Cloud allowed it, although he didn't _have_ to. _Public relations_.

"Yes, Sensei," Cloud said, appearing rather bashful again.

"I – suddenly I don't want to leave," Sensei said, staring down at the blond.

Cloud didn't say anything, just stood there, looking up, looking down, looking up again with a little smile.

"Cloud-kun … I'll be back! You can count on it!" Sensei said, and abruptly turned to go. Cloud opened the door for him with a little bow. Neither said a word when the door was opened, and Cloud stayed back out of sight, closing it swiftly after Tatamine-sensei was through.

Cloud shut the door softly, shot the lock again, and sighed, loud and long. The sex had been okay, but the acting job – that alone was worth 3000 gil! Oh, well, nothing he could do about it. He keyed open the lock box and took out the 600 gil, set aside 250 for Ray (the owner of the karaoke bar), and slipped the rest into his wallet, which was also in the lockbox. Quickly he stripped out of the schoolboy outfit, tossing it into the laundry bag in the closet. He plucked his cellphone out of the lockbox and called Ray. "Yo," he said when the man answered. "It's Cloud. Am I done?"

"Well," the scratchy voice said in Cloud's ear, "got a couple youngsters out here, wanting some hands-on directions on how to do it, boy on boy. You up for that?"

"What, some kids? What's the pay, a ramen noodle bento?" Cloud snickered.

Ray guffawed laughter into the phone, then said, "Naw … one of 'em is a rich kid, I'm thinkin'. Looks pretty loaded, wearing some ritzy stuff, nice watch. I'm thinkin' he's carrying some serious cash."

"Hmm," Cloud mused. "Anybody else?"

"Not unless you wanna try the ladies, Blondie. They always ask aboutcha, y'know. 'Sir'," Ray was doing his hilarious female imitation, "'Can we choose that cute blond guy?' Cracks me up every time when I tell'em you bat for da other team."

Cloud was laughing too. Ray was a good guy. Cloud didn't mind splitting his take with the ojiisan. "Naw, you know me. No tits, no pussy."

Ray laughed. He thought the word 'pussy' was funny. Every time. It was a guaranteed laugh. "Well, then, you want the kids?"

"Legal?"

"Cloud, you wound me! Hell, yeah, they're legal … well, this whole business ain't exactly legal, y'know … but hey, I digest … they're over da age of consentualness. So, long story short? – Yeah."

"That's all you had to say, Ray, Jesus. Okay. Give me a half-hour to eat and get cleaned up, and then send'em in. Any special requests?" Cloud was already moving towards the small attached bathroom.

"Uh … let's see here …." Cloud imagined Ray checking the sign-in sheet. "Karaoke, no wait. Here it is. Ahem!" He cleared his throat importantly and began reading. Kinda. "We … uh … gay sex, yeah, yeah … couple … hmm … ah, here we go. Well, hell. Nope. Nothin' special."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Fine. Half hour, then send'em on in. I'll be ready."

XXX

1:30 a.m. Cloud left the bar at closing, having spent the whole night busy. His ass was a bit sore, and his jaw muscles were aching, but boy, had he made a lot of gil! Enough to cover his rent for two months, easy. He grinned. Man – if all his nights were like this, he could quit working at the convenience store. But as of right now, he couldn't. He wanted to get to the point where all he did was regular customers, guaranteed paychecks, so to speak … but he was a long way from making a good living that way.

Speaking of the convenience store … his shift started at 2, so he'd better get going. He didn't work the counter – with his job as a 'host' he didn't want to work a public position – he worked stocking and cleaning. It was okay. He didn't have to worry about handling the cash, or any of the problems that could come along with that … and he could take more frequent breaks. So it was all good. He actually got benefits, too, even though they sucked … but at least it was something. If he ended up in the hospital for whatever reason, he would have _something_, they wouldn't be able to turn him away. It made him feel better.

He entered the store from the back, using his key, and walked through the back rooms to the front, calling out a greeting to Quinn, the man who was working the midnight shift tonight. Quinn didn't need this job, he was retired from the Midgar Postal Service, but he wanted something to do, and he liked being on the night shift so he could read in between customers. It worked for him.

"Yo, Cloudy … your magazine is here. Came in this afternoon, Miyagi-chan said." He was holding up a thick book, waving it around, grinning.

Cloud gasped. It was in! Finally! "Dude!" Cloud said, and scooted down the aisle to snatch the mag out of Quinn's hand. His favorite manga, finally updated! _Tsundere Veterinarian_ was so good, so funny! It had taken forever for this new issue. "Thanks man!" he said, and happily went back to the back room to put the magazine reverently into his locker. Cloud got a soda from the employee fridge and started unpacking boxes, whistling softly as he looked forward to cracking into the manga when he could take a break. What a great day!

XXX

Midgar

"Hey! C'mon, are you gonna be in there all night?" Zack Fair sounded like he was out of patience. He knocked on the bathroom door again, a little louder and longer this time. "Sephiroth! C'mon, man, we gotta go if we're going to go at all ..."

Seph's voice came from behind the door. "You go on ahead. I don't wanna go anymore."

"What?! Dude … man, no, Seph, it's going to be just fine. Here, open the door and let me take a look. Okay? Come on. Open for Zacky …." His tone had changed from exasperated to wheedling. Zack Fair, SOLDIER Second, tall and muscular, with his long black hair spiked back from his face and pretty blue eyes, was dressed up and ready for a night on the town. And Sephiroth was coming with him this time, dammit, if he had to drag the other man with him. "Just open the door, what's the harm in that? Okay? Sephiroth?"

The door opened. The General of the ShinRa Armies stood in the open doorway, staring at Zack through his glasses, frowning. Could he have found a less-sexy pair, even if he'd looked for them? Zack didn't think so. Black, thick-rimmed, square lenses – horrid, simply horrid. He was wearing a scary sweater-vest over a white button-down shirt and a pair of cords.

The hair? All that long glorious white hair? It was pulled back from his face in a ponytail that he'd kinda bunched up on itself to form a sort-of sloppy half-bun. Zack looked him up and down. "What happened to the clothes I picked out, Seph?"

"They aren't comfortable."

"That's not our goal tonight, right? We're looking for girls, so comfort is taking a back seat to 'sexy', right? Wasn't that the plan?" Zack was sounding exasperated again. He watched Sephiroth walk past him toward the living room.

"The jeans were too tight. They made my scrotum hurt. And the shirt was missing some buttons. Did you pay money for that piece of shit? It showed my belly button, almost. It was … indecent." Sephiroth sounded wounded, affronted. He went on into the kitchen with his nose in the air.

"Seph," Zack said as he followed his friend and commanding officer. "Man … I don't get you. Where is that sexy god from the recruitment posters? Where is that guy? Because I swear to Odin, I think you have a secret twin!"

"Pfft," Sephiroth chuffed, indifferently. He didn't bother to answer, they'd discussed this issue before. He got a bottle of oolong tea from the fridge and cracked it open.

"Seriously! Here you are, worried about your fucking belly-button showing, when in uniform your whole damn chest is out practically sticking out. You're wearing leather everything, straps all over the place, your package is –" Zack bit that off when Seph glared at him over the bottle of tea. "Sorry, sorry." He changed tactics. "Why did you take out your contacts?"

Sephiroth swallowed tea before he answered. "They were bothering me."

"All in the name of _sexiness_, Seph! Damn … you know, this is a chance for us to meet some pretty girls. Some girls from outside the company. Don't you wanna do that?"

"I suppose." Sephiroth didn't sound very interested, or excited, or anything.

"Then what did we say about the glasses." Zack crossed his arms over his chest, practically tapping one foot on the parquet floor.

Seph sighed. "We said they had to stay home."

"Right. So?"

"So I'll stay home with them. You go on ahead—"

"No! Seph, no, man. You … what are you gonna do here then? Look, it's just a goukon, we don't have to stay if you don't like any of the girls." Zack was definitely exasperated now, but that didn't mean he missed the flick of Sephiroth's eyes when he'd asked what the tall man was going to do instead of going out. "What … wait. Did you? You didn't." He walked over to Sephiroth and looked at the counter, behind the toaster oven. "What. Is. That." He gestured toward the little counter-top oven imperiously, with his chin.

"Nothing." Seph reached behind the oven and snatched out the book before Zack could grab it.

"No. No, Seph! I thought we agreed, no more of that shit for a while, all right? You agreed!"

"I don't recall actually _agreeing_ to that." Sephiroth was clutching the book to his chest. His eyes widened as Zack held out his hand, the red glow enveloping his fingers giving proof to the fact that he was preparing to cast fire.

"Put that down, I'm gonna torch it," he growled.

"Don't you dare!" Sephiroth yelled. He hurriedly pushed the book down into the front of his ugly brown, distressingly baggy corduroys. "If you torch it, you'll fry my genitals!"

"What?" Zack was fighting laughter, but he was still mad.

"My … my man-parts!"

"_Man-parts_?! Seph, say it. Come on, just say it … your _peter_. I'll fry your peter and your balls!" Zack's hand was still glowing, but he wasn't going to cast fire unless that book was out of his friend's pants. He wasn't that mean.

"Don't say p-peter! And don't say balls!" He was blushing fiercely now.

"Why not?!"

"It … it's crass!"

"Say it, Seph! Say peter! Dick! Prick! Cock! Twig and berries! C'mon, just say it, say something to give me faith in your manhood again!" He finally couldn't help it, Zack collapsed onto the kitchen floor, holding his tummy as he howled laughter. "Man-parts! Oh my gods … 'you'll fry my genitals' … _fuck_!"

Sephiroth, past all point of embarrassment, stalked past his convulsing friend and left the kitchen, stomping into the living room and flinging himself onto the couch, still cradling the book in his arms. He sat there, steaming, listening as Zack finally wound down and realized he was alone. He came into the living room, wiping tears off his cheeks.

"Okay." He giggled once or twice when he looked at Seph's rigid figure, but quickly sobered up. "Okay, listen." He thought hard as he crossed the expensive oriental rug and sat down next to his friend on the soft couch. "Let's make a deal. All right?"

Sephiroth was unconvinced. "What kind of deal?" he asked warily, his face stony.

"If you get changed and come with me to the goukon, I'll forget I saw that stupid book." Zack smiled, his white teeth brilliant in the soft lighting.

Sephiroth was silent. It was an attractive deal, on the surface. But, "We can leave if I don't like the girls?"

"Right. BUT – you have to give them a real chance this time, Seph. Not like that one time." Zack's face was stern again. He was recalling the time they'd gone to a bar and Sephiroth had acted like he was on an episode of 'What Not to Wear', tearing the girls apart before they even finished one drink, for Shiva's sake. Sephiroth – the undisputed king of undesirable clothing! That hideous sweater-vest he was wearing tonight, for example. It looked like an old chocobo blanket.

Sephiroth was thinking it over. Zack could practically hear the wheels turning in the man's head: if I go, I'll spend a few hours being bored, and then I can come home and be alone with my book. Zack smiled. He knew Sephiroth. The fact that he hadn't refused the deal yet was a good sign. A very good sign.

"All right. But do I have to wear that shirt?"

"Go put the fucking shirt on! And take your hair out of that … whatever it is. It's emasculating! Go!"

Sephiroth got up, taking the book with him, and disappeared into the bathroom. Zack sighed. Why did he bother? Why did he go through this, week after week? He considered it. Because he knew how cool Seph really was. When he was in his uniform and leading a squad – or a battalion! – of men, he was the idol of every guy who saw him. Strong, fierce, proud and unyieldingly honorable … he was a man among men. The General of the ShinRa Armies. Amazing. Fearless. Girls practically came in their panties when he walked by.

But as Sephiroth had told him more than once – that wasn't the real _him_. It was his work-persona, it was like an attitude that came with the uniform. He was _working_. Zack shook his head, wondering what else Sephiroth was keeping hidden behind those glasses. Next thing he knew, Seph would pop off and tell him he was _gay_ or something. Zack laughed out loud at the thought. Yeah, right. The General of the ShinRa Armies, a nancy-boy. Riiiight. No way. Yeah, he was a total nerd, more like an otaku! – but he was straight as an arrow. Zack would bet his man-parts on that. He snickered again. Man-parts. He couldn't wait to tell Reno that one.

The bathroom door opened. "Contacts!" Zack yelled, and the door slammed shut again.

Finally, the bathroom door opened again. Zack was leaning against the wall outside the door, arms crossed across his chest. He looked Sephiroth up and down. He whistled softly. "Now … that's more like it," he said, grinning.

White hair flowed down Sephiroth's back, like a river of burnished silver, gleaming in the bathroom lights. The shirt, a soft silver-gray button-down, parted at the chest to reveal Sephiroth's muscular pectorals crowding his sternum. It did not go down to his navel, that was an exaggeration. The pants, white jeans that hung low on his hips, really did crowd up his man-parts, making an impressive bulge at his crotch. The loafers … the loafers?! "Take those off," Zack said. Seph sighed, a frown crinkling his forehead. His green eyes followed Zack as he disappeared into the bedroom … coming back out with a pair of black, white, and gray checkered Vans.

"These still have the tags on them!" he complained, ripping them off with his teeth and handing them over. Sephiroth put them on. "Tuck in the shirt," he ordered. "And put on the belt."

"Yes, _master_," Sephiroth snarled with vicious sarcasm.

"Come on, man … it's just a goukon. And you look really good now. So cheer up. We'll have some drinks, some conversation, and maybe we'll meet a couple of nice, pretty, sexy Midgar girls who will put out." He grinned at the look on Seph's face. "Not tonight! I know how weird you are about stuff like that."

"It's not _weird_. It's honorable."

"Yeah, yeah. I bet if a pretty girl rubbed her tits on ya and then pulled you into the bathroom to suck –" Zack stopped himself mid-sentence. Sephiroth didn't look as though that was a best-case scenario. In fact, he looked pissed. "Sorry, man. Really. I forgot who I was talkin' to." He patted Seph's shoulder, grinning in a friendly way.

"Save that crap for Reno," Sephiroth said.

"I know, I know. Don't worry. Nothing will happen that you don't want to happen. Okay? Just relax. And have a good time. All right?"

"I'll try."

"Good! Then, c'mon, man! Let's go!"

XXX

Sephiroth was miserable. What in the world ever possessed him to do this. He was trapped in a booth, sandwiched between two women who … yes, Zack was right … seemed to press their breasts against him at every available opportunity. The pants were making him lose all feeling below the waist. His hair kept getting caught under his or one of the women's backsides, pulling more times than he could count. The music was too loud, the drinks were too bitter, the voices were too strident, he was too hot, and he wanted to be home with the _Tsundere Veterinarian_, goddammit!

For what seemed like the thousandth time, he reached up to push his glasses up, then corrected the movement and reached for his glass instead. He took a long drink, wiped his upper lip on his forearm, and sat the glass back down.

"General …" the girl on his left was trying to get his attention. What was her name again? Oh, yeah. Nini. He'd almost sputtered rude laughter when she'd first told him. Ninny. Too right. But now that he'd thought it, he couldn't _un_think it. He'd have to be careful and not let it slip.

"Yes, Nini-san?" he said, turning towards her courteously.

She blushed under his cool green gaze. "I'm so pleased to finally meet you," she gushed. "My friends and I all watch the news every night, hoping to see you." She dissolved into giggles, holding up a hand in front of her mouth.

What was she, six? Sephiroth maintained his demeanor with effort. "Thank you. That's … very complimentary." He took another slug of his drink, looking across the table at a grinning Zack and shooting daggers at him with his eyes. _I could kill you right now, quite effortlessly_, that look said. Zack pulled down his left eyelid and stuck his tongue out in the timeless gesture.

"We were wondering …" giggle-giggle, "… what you like to do when you're not working?"

Zack suddenly sat up straight. He'd coached Sephiroth on this. _Don't tell her the truth_, he thought, trying to telepathically send the thought into Seph's head. _Don't do it. Tell her what we agreed on_.

"Well," Sephiroth said lazily, glancing at Zack and noting his discomfort with secret glee. "I like to drink. A lot. Cost of war, you know. And I practice my magic, destroying stuff … killing small animals and bothersome children. I eat sugar by the bag-full, with my fingers. I terrorize priests and mimes … and steal women's underwear when they hang them out on the line. But my all-time favorite thing to do …" he was enjoying this. The stunned look on Nini's face, the way Zack had spewed his drink at the part about killing bothersome children. "My absolutely favorite thing to do … is …" the whole table was now hanging on his words. This was _priceless_! " … I like to make little outfits for my _man-parts _and play dress-up for hours, 'til it can't stand up anymore."

Complete silence around the table. Sephiroth finished his drink, swallowed, then spit an ice cube back into his glass, before breaking into a huge cheeky grin. Reno _lost it_. He fell off his chair, laughing, screeching "man-parts! Man-parts!" Zack was holding his sides, laughing so hard tears were streaming down his cheeks. The rest of the men at the table were also laughing, the girls were giggling, and Nini smacked him playfully on the arm, her cheeks aflame, pretending he'd been a bad boy and had hurt her feelings.

Sephiroth, bored to tears and wishing like _hell_ this night was over, merely smiled and tried not to look at the clock.

XXX

When he got home – ALONE, thank you very much! – he barely had the door shut and locked before he tore the shirt off his back and unzipped the goddamned tight-ass jeans. Breathing a sigh of relief as the blood-flow was restored, he stripped the jeans off and tossed them after the shirt. "Oughta put those fucking things in the _trash_," he muttered, disgusted. He walked, naked, into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of oolong tea out of the fridge, and slugged down half of it in two huge gulps. He didn't know the name of half the fucked-up concoctions he'd poured down his throat at the bar, but none of them were as good as regular ol' oolong tea.

Carrying the bottle, he walked slightly unsteadily down the hall to his bedroom and grabbed his ratty but comfortable robe off the hook on the back of the closet door. Ahh. Better. He belted it tight, went into the bathroom and urinated, took out his contacts, then hustled into the living room, turning on the PC that stood on a desk that faced the huge bank of windows that covered one wall. He turned it on, waited while it powered up, then opened up his browser.

Navigating quickly from long habit, he scanned the lists of the _Tsundere Veterinarian_ chatroom until he found a very familiar name. His own nickname, "Whitey", had popped onto the list when he logged in. "Nimble" was already there.

_Hey Nimble_ … he typed quickly. _Did you get it? :D_

Nimble: Well, shit yes! What do you think I am? :P

Whitey: Me, too! I haven't been able to read it yet, though …

Nimble: I'm on Chapter 3. XD

Whitey: Don't tell me anything!

Nimble: Like I would do that! What do you take me for, man!

Whitey: Is it good?

Nimble: Good like the last day of school is good. Good like rocky road ice cream is good. Good like—

Whitey: I get it, I get it! Lol

Nimble: Hey, get this! You remember where I live right? ;)

Whitey: Yeah. Whassup?

Nimble: M. Kitano is going to be doing a book signing in MY TOWN! Is that fucking awesome or WHAT?!

Whitey: *speechless* _(M. Kitano was the author of the most fantastic manga series ever written: _Tsundere Veterinarian_!)_

Nimble: Dude I am so going. Two nights! And they're going to have displays and all kinds of merchandise … I'm so psyched!

Whitey: I wanna go.

Nimble: You should. I think it's the last signing this year. That's what the website says anyway.

Whitey: I'm goin'. I'll work it out. I have vacation saved up!

Nimble: Cool! Maybe I'll see ya there.

Sephiroth frowned at the screen. Shit. Oh, well, this was all anonymous, so no matter. He typed, _You never know, right? When is it?_

Nimble: Three weeks! Three short weeks! Mark your calendar!

Whitey: Will do. There. Done. Lol

Nimble: lol

There was a pause, then Nimble said, _Shit, I gotta go. Work work work. Have a good night … see if you can catch up to me while I'm workin'! :P_

Whitey: I'm going to go read it now. See ya tomorrow?

Nimble: Prolly. I'll look for ya. Enjoy! Later!

And Nimble signed off. Sephiroth signed off, too, getting up and retrieving his copy of _Tsundere Veterinarian_ before settling down on the couch, glasses in place, oolong tea within reach. Now _this_ was his idea of a good evening! Of FUN. Zack was an idiot. He was chuckling within seconds of beginning the read. What a great manga. He had to go meet the author. No matter what!

XXX

Costa Del Sol

Cloud, known in certain circles as "Nimble", pushed the broom along the sidewalk outside the convenience store. When he'd found out about the _Tsundere Veterinarian_ author coming to Costa Del Sol, he'd been ecstatic. What a break! What if he'd still been living in Nibelheim!? Thank the gods, no. They really did work in mysterious ways, he thought, grinning.

He'd immediately written out his request for two days off from his convenience store job. It would be approved, he hadn't used any days yet and had a few built up. Awesome, awesome! Ray wouldn't care one way or the other, although he might still turn a couple tricks during the hours the displays and all would be closed … for the extra money, to spend on _Tsundere Veterinarian_ figures and memorabilia! Yes! He was saving his money starting NOW. Man, oh man, he couldn't wait.

His thoughts turned to Whitey. He had no idea who the guy was – in fact all that he knew was that he was a guy, and he lived on the other continent (time change), and he was another rabid fan like Cloud. It would be cool to meet him. It would be nice to go to a coffee shop, or the book store with the coffee shop in it, and sit with another fan, to drink coffee until they chased them out, talking about the book, the story, the characters … everything that made _Tsundere Veterinarian_ great. Hopefully, it would happen. Ya never knew.

Cloud danced with the broom, dipping it a couple times, singing an homage to his favorite manga that he just now made up in his head. Within minutes, Quinn stuck his head out the door. "Cloud!" he hissed.

Cloud stopped dancing and singing, staring towards the door. "What?"

"Man, it's 3 a.m., do you realize that?" He looked like he was trying not to laugh.

"Oh yeah." Chuckle. "Sorry." Sheepishly.

"Don't tell me sorry, tell old Mrs. Burnside across the street … she just called and said if you don't cut it out, her next call will be the police." He raised his eyebrows, then went back inside.

Cloud looked across the street where a curtain was pulled away from an upstairs window. He pressed his hands together and made an exaggerated bow, then another, and another. _Sorry sorry sorry, Mrs. Burnside, the last thing I need is police problems. _The curtain switched back into place. Cloud went back inside, putting the broom to work on the store floors, glancing up occasionally to see if the cops were coming. But apparently he'd appeased the woman, because they never did show up. Well, Officer Donut showed up at 5 a.m. like usual, but nobody else, nobody in response to a Disturbing the Peace call.

His shift finally over at 8 a.m., Cloud rescued his manga book and carefully carried it home to his small LDK apartment. He read until he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, then fell asleep with the book cradled on his stomach. He didn't dream, that he was aware of. But he had a little smile on his face.

XXX

Midgar

Zack Fair stomped into Sephiroth's office, glowering. He flopped onto the chair that faced the desk, frowning out the window, arms crossed on his chest.

Sephiroth looked up at him, pushed back slightly from his desk, and crossed his legs, lacing his fingers over his stomach. "Mornin', Zack."

"Hmph," Zack snorted.

"Something … wrong?" Seph's right eyebrow arched slightly.

"How many phone numbers did you get last night?" he growled, still not looking away from the window.

"I don't know." Sephiroth, now losing interest in the conversation since it was about something stupid, leaned over his desk again, focusing on the computer monitor.

"Whattayamean you don't know. How many, dammit?" NOW he looked. Zack's eyes were bloodshot.

"I threw them all away in a trash can before the taxi picked me up. So … I. Don't. Know."

"You sit there, frowning, ignoring the girls unless they spoke directly to you, you never danced, your conversation was stagnant – well, except for that one time, but forget about that! And you … _you_ get all the phone numbers." Zack huffed out a breath. Then he leaned forward, earnestly. "Seph … how, man? What, were your fingers busy under the table?"

Sephiroth threw him a disgusted glance.

"Never mind. Just tell me. Okay? Come on. Please?" Pleadingly.

"You never paid attention in the sociology or psychology classes, did you." Sephiroth looked calmly at his friend.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'll tell you. It's simple. You act like a puppy."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. You act like a puppy. The women think they're cute and cuddly, aww, look, isn't he adorable? But they don't take them home." Sephiroth turned back to his computer.

"So I'm a puppy."

"That's what I said."

"Yeah? And what does that make you?"

Sephiroth looked up at Zack, spearing him with a vibrant green gaze. "Me? That's easy, too, Zack. I'm a _wolf_." He went back to his work.

Zack got up. He turned around and walked to the door. At the door he turned and saw Sephiroth smiling, eyes still on the screen. "I hate you," Zack said.

Sephiroth chuckled.

"Hate you, hate you, hate you."

Sephiroth began to laugh. Merrily.

"Asshole!" Zack yanked the door open and stepped through it, flipped Sephiroth the bird, and slammed it closed.

XXX

**End Chapter 1**

**Thank you for reading. Will update soon!**

**Ahvienda**


	2. Chapter 2 -- Only a Fortnight Away

**Chapter 2 – Only a Fortnight Away**

**Same warnings as Chapter 1. Only amplified. Hehe**

**Same Disclaimer, too! So, ditto!**

**I drew a quick panel from the fictitious "Tsundere Veterinarian" manga and posted it to deviant art. It's like when a manga artist purposely slips into a more "cartoony" style to (usually) make a comedic point. You can check it out if you want (and give me a break, okay, I did it with Paint in, like, 4 minutes!) on the deviant art site at gallery/. XD (As in manga, read right to left! The first block of the panel is posted above for this story.) **

**Okay, enough b.s.! On to Chapter 2:**

"All right, asshole … up against the wall. Up against the wall, I said!" The police officer shoved the perp against the wall of the room, holding him in place by the back of the neck. "Spread 'em!" he growled, kicking the man's legs apart. "Hands on the wall where I can see 'em, shitheel … higher! … now don't move!" The officer began a pat-down of the captured criminal, starting at his neck, checking his hair and his shirt collarfor hidden blades. He ran his hands across the man's shoulders, down his arms, and then turned his attention to his back and chest. "Stay still," he muttered, running both hands down the man's hips and onto his legs. The perp was panting, obviously frightened.

"I … I didn't do nothin'!" He turned his head, craning his neck to look over his shoulder.

"Shut up!" the policeman grunted, shoving his captive's head back forward again. He ran his hands over the man's buttocks, making him startle – but the guy wasn't brave enough to take his hands off the wall or turn around again. Now the officer ran his hands around the front of the man's hips … and paused. "Oh-ho … what do we have here? You got a club inside your pants or somethin'?" He grabbed the 'club' and squeezed, making the perp shiver and whimper. "Huh?! Speak up!"

"N-no! That – that's not a club! I swear!" His voice was high-pitched and breathy, he was shaking with fright.

"What is it then?! Huh?! A bag of drugs? Fuckin' speak up!" The officer shoved the offender against the wall again, pushing up against him from behind with his body. He dipped his searching hand inside the man's pants and found what he was looking for. "Oh-ho … I _see_. Gettin' off on this, are ya? You one o' them _homos_?! Well, are ya?! Answer me!"

"I … y-yes! Yes, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't help it!" The perp sounded like he was about to cry.

"Then … this is your lucky day. Or unlucky, dependin' on how you look at it," the policeman snickered. "Hands behind your back …. Hands!"

Whimpering, the man took his hands off the wall and put them behind his back. The handcuffs clinked and clicked into place. The policeman pulled him away from the wall by the cuffs, turned him around and sneered at him. "On your knees, _homo_," he said, grinning with easy disdain. He unzipped his pants, pulling out a very nicely shaped cock. "My _deputy_ here needs a little attention. Do a good job and maybe I'll go easy on ya." He suddenly had a nightstick in his hand … pressing a little button made it telescope out until it was roughly two feet long, slender and pliant at the tip.

Cloud Strife made one fine-looking cop. He was wearing a black uniform – yeah, it was cheap, but it still looked pretty good, he thought – including a black cop's hat pulled down low on his forehead and a pair of dark sunglasses. The city planner of Junon crept forward on his knees, sweat beading his upper lip, and looked up at the cop looming over him. He leaned forward, still looking up at Cloud, and touched the tip of his tongue to Cloud's dick.

"You can do better than that, _fag-boy_," Cloud goaded him, and struck him a good one across the back with his 'nightstick'. The city planner, a small, rather chubby man named Paul, squealed and shuddered. He scuttled forward on his knees and began licking Cloud's cock in earnest, whimpering as he did so. Cloud prodded him on – with lashes of the whip – whenever he paused or used his teeth. Soon he was holding on to Paul's head by the ears, fucking his mouth. Paul loved this kind of shit. He was a man of some power and influence in Junon, but he secretly wanted to give power over to someone else, someone who would use him and punish him for being a bad, bad boy.

Cloud Strife was that someone. Whipping Paul through his shirt wouldn't leave any marks, and hurt just enough so that Paul was 'whipped' into a frenzy. Soon enough he had the man bent over the coffee table, pants down around his knees, begging for mercy. Mercy that would never come – because Paul didn't really _want_ it to come. They had a safe word in play, just in case. If Paul said, "architect", Cloud would immediately stop and step away.

So far, out of all the times they'd met, the safe word had never been used. Cloud knew what was enough and what was too much. He could read Paul like a book. So now he slid the vibrator into Paul's asshole and turned it up, the buzzing sound muffled inside the other man's body. "Gotta make sure you don't have any hidden weapons, drugs, or other contraband up in here, law-breaker," Cloud sneered as he leaned over Paul's back. "Hmm, seems pretty open … but maybe I should check with something better. Something … _longer_ …."

"Ah! N-no! No, please, I don't have anything up there! I wouldn't—"

"Shut up!" In Paul's case, no really _did_ mean yes. It always did. Only 'architect' meant no. He spread Paul's asscheeks apart and pressed the head of his now-condom-covered dick up against his opening. "Yeah, might be somethin' up there. Gotta make sure you're clean, perp. Officer McCloud is gonna do … just … _that_!" On the word 'that', Cloud popped the head of his dick past Paul's sphincter and slid it home. Paul squealed again, his head coming back, sweat pouring off his face.

"Off—Officer! No! Ah ahh!" He continued to moan and beg for forgiveness as Cloud fucked the hell out of him. Paul loved it … the way he eventually came like Old Faithful gave witness to _that_. When Cloud allowed him to come, that is. When Paul had begged for permission and promised to make a sizable donation to the Policeman's Benevolence Fund. (Cloud had thought that was a nice touch. It made him laugh inside.)

The size of the tip he gave Cloud also showed how much he'd liked the play, too. Now that it was all over, Paul once again looked like a regular businessman, suit and tie, carrying a briefcase, sunglasses to hide his identity. _Good luck with that_, Cloud thought … but if it was ever discovered that Paul the Junon City Planner was visiting a host for BDSM sex? – it wouldn't be because Cloud Strife had let the secret out. No fuckin' way. He certainly knew what side his bread was buttered on.

"See you next time, Cloud-kun," Paul said, smiling. "That was … memorable." He was blushing. Cloud pressed his lips together to hide a smile.

"That's what I'm here for, sir," Cloud said, touching his fingertips to the brim of his hat, nodding, still playing the cop. _Buttered bread, buttered bread_.

When he was gone, Cloud counted out his gil with delight. Damnation! He'd made 700 gil on _top_ of Ray's cut! In two hours' time! Excellent! He imagined the fantastic _Tsundere Veterinarian_ memorabilia he was going to be able to buy. Two weeks away … only two weeks away! He grinned and put the money in his wallet, then put it back in the lockbox. Glancing at the clock, he realized he had about 45 minutes until the "boys" would be back for more gay-sex instruction. (Interesting times in the host business with those two young sexy guys. But more on that later.) 45 minutes was plenty of time to get cleaned up, change into some jeans and a t-shirt, and surf online for a little while. Maybe Whitey would be around.

He whistled as he stripped out of the cop uniform and headed for the bathroom.

XXX

Midgar

Across the ocean in Midgar, Sephiroth was having his own troubles. Here was a man who definitely needed a safe word … if he'd've had one, he'd've been yelling it at the top of his lungs by now. He wanted to pinch himself, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. Gods. Never again. Never again!

This blind date was a complete and utter disaster. The only reason he'd agreed to it was because he'd lost a stupid bet with Zack. _Zack_. The more Sephiroth thought about it, the more it became obvious that Zack was _not_ his friend. If he was, wouldn't he like Sephiroth for _who he was_, and let him do the things that he enjoyed? Why was he eternally trying to get Sephiroth hooked up? And just _what_ in the world was wrong with a mostly-celibate life? Masturbation was good enough for Seph, he did it a few times a week and that was plenty. In the shower, hot water, slippery soap – POW! 'Nough said. He wasn't a virgin, hadn't been since he was 14, but still. If he could buy it back, he might.

But this … godDAMNit. The woman was a civilian – she didn't work for ShinRa, she wasn't a Turk or anything like that. She was older than Nini and her flock of fluttery, giggly friends … in her twenties like Sephiroth was. She had long black hair, pale skin, and red fingernails that looked like they'd been dipped in blood. Nice.

But that was really the only attractive thing about her. Oh, Sephiroth had to give it to her – she'd been trying all night to find something they had in common, but was failing miserably. Reading? Nope, all she read was fashion and fan magazines. Movies? Nope, she liked romantic comedies and Sephiroth would rather be boiled in oil before watching one. (Sephiroth liked action films and nature documentaries.) Careers? Nope, she was an elementary school teacher, and Sephiroth hated children. Foods? She wanted to eat sushi … and Sephiroth considered it a mark of civilization that people had begun _cooking_ their food. He rarely even ate raw fruit! Even their drinks, now that they were here at the bar – she was having tequila, and Sephiroth was of the opinion that if something had a _worm_ in it, you threw it away. He was drinking sake, _warm_ sake thank you very much. It was the only good thing about the whole fucked-up evening.

Once again he was stuffed into some clothes that Zack had picked out. How he longed to be back in his sweats, reading more of the _Tsundere Veterinarian_, sipping his warm sake in his living room, a fire in the fireplace … he sighed, glancing at the woman to his left. Carola. What kind of name was that? Gods, how much longer would he have to stay here. Wait, she was pausing for breath in her story about something one of the rugrats in her class had done. He feigned interest. Sephiroth was very good at feigning interest, it was one of his more useful talents.

For her part, Carola was almost frantic with the desire to _catch_ this man's interest and hold it. She could tell that the evening was not going well, and she was scrambling around in her head, trying to think what she could do to rescue things and start up a relationship with this amazingly handsome man. General Sephiroth. General Sephiroth! Imagine what her life would be like if she could capture him … date him … move in … get married … have his children! She finished her story and he chuckled right on time. "Well, at least Yuki didn't try to pretend that he'd done the science project all by himself. That uncle of his … he lives with them but he's really a lay-about, doesn't work …." She shook her head, clucking her tongue.

_Someone stab me! Someone set the bar on fire! Please! _Sephiroth thought, even as he was commiserating with her.

Carola looked at him over the rim of her glass. His beautiful long hair was hanging over one shoulder, puddled in his lap. The black dress shirt set off his pale skin in a majorly sexy way, and the black jeans were _sinful_. "Goodness," she breathed. "I think I've had enough to drink. I'm feeling a little tipsy!" She giggled, but in a mature way, she thought.

_Was she choking?_ Sephiroth thought, fairly alarmed. No … no, she was laughing. Whew. "Are you ready to go then?" he asked, trying to keep the hope out of his voice. It came out calm and conscientious.

"Are you?"

_Gawd_. "Sure. Let's get out of here," Sephiroth said, and then felt like kicking himself. That sounded like he wanted her to come with him. Sure enough, that's the way she took it, too. Dammit! He paid the tab, left a nice tip, and escorted her out of the bar and onto the street. The valet took his ticket and trotted off to get his car. Shit. Why had he driven? Why hadn't he taken a cab? He was stuck. He couldn't very well just leave her here on the street. _Zack_ … _I'm going to fucking kill you the next time I see you_. None of this registered on the General's face. Outwardly, he was smiling faintly as he looked down at Carola.

In the car, Carola sat as close as the console would let her, leaning over even though the seatbelt had to be practically cutting her in half. She was remarkably well-versed in current events, and of course Sephiroth knew what was going on everywhere in the world at any given time, so they actually had a decent conversation on the way to her apartment. She directed him down into the parking garage – and Sephiroth's early-warning system failed him. Maybe if he hadn't had so much sake, he wouldn't have gone down in there where they'd be all alone in the dark. But even the best intuition has lapses, and Seph's had a BIG one.

So now here he was, leaning back in the seat while Carola leaned across the console, unzipping his jeans. The return of blood flow (fucking tight jeans) to _that area_ meant a return of sensation … and the next thing he knew, he was hard. Congratulating herself, Carola went to work. She actually gave a pretty decent blowjob, only once did her teeth scrape him painfully, but Sephiroth found himself losing concentration. It felt good, but.

Women's intuition was a powerful thing. The second Seph's cock started showing signs of losing rigidity, Carola got up and slid over the console, straddling him, facing him. She produced a condom – _from where?!_ Sephiroth thought, in a panic – pulled her panties off to the side and lined him up. Sephiroth was wide-eyed, hanging onto the edges of his seat, wondering how things had gotten this far.

Now, Sephiroth was big. I mean _big_ big. Big as in LARGE. But she sucked him up inside herself like she had a system of caves down there. Soon he was practically having to hang on for dear life as she rode him like a wild woman inside his car, straining the limits of his shock absorbers. And … she was so _wet_! What the hell, had she peed on him? Sloshing squooshing sounds, her little squeaks of pleasure ….

Sephiroth was totally turned-off. It was only lucky that he hadn't masturbated that day, because otherwise he'd've never popped one off. Her kisses were sloppy, her breasts were fake, and the tequila smell on her breath made him want to gag. He just held on for dear life while she bucked his bronco.

When it was over she thanked him for a lovely evening, gave him her number, and slid out of his car, waving cheekily as she walked to the elevators. Sephiroth waited until the doors closed on her, then started his car, gunned the engine, and tore out of there. He had to get home and get cleaned up. He was barely able to restrain himself from putting the top down and going through a car wash with his zipper down. His crotch felt _gross_.

Later, after a super-hot shower during which he'd thought of all kinds of imaginative ways to kill Zack, he got into his old robe and flopped backward onto his bed. What. The. Fuck. That was _it_. No more! He was not letting Zack talk him into any more bullshit dates like this. At least now that he'd scrubbed himself clean he didn't feel like he needed to douse his privates in gasoline and light a match. Scratching his chest idly, he turned his head until his gaze fell on the airline tickets stuck into a corner of his dresser mirror. Two weeks left. Two weeks to get through until he could board a civilian airship and go to Costa Del Sol. A genuine smile curved his lips. Two weeks.

XXX

Cloud arrived at the convenience store early … it was only about 1:15 a.m. but he didn't have any more customers at Ray's so he left early and made his way to the store. Quinn was on duty again, he gave Cloud a little wave when he stuck his head inside the employee entrance to let the older man know that he was here. "Q, I'll be hanging in the back until my shift starts, okay?" Cloud said, unslinging his laptop from off his shoulder.

"No problem. See ya in a bit," Quinn said, returning to his book.

The swinging door whispered shut when Cloud let go of it. He ambled over to the little nook where the employees had their breaks and lunches. There was a small table and four chairs, a chef's cart next to the fridge with a microwave, a toaster, and a coffee maker on it, and a small cabinet that contained paper plates, plastic utensils, Styrofoam cups, and coffee filters, stuff like that. Cloud got a soda out of the employee fridge and set up his laptop on the table. The convenience store had Wi-Fi, mostly for the customers who sat at the counter or the booths to eat a microwave burrito or some cup noodles. It wasn't the greatest Wi-Fi around, but it worked okay for Cloud's uses.

The first thing he did was check M. Kitano-sensei's website, to make sure the artist's schedule hadn't changed. Nope. Still on for two weeks away, here in Costa Del Sol. Yes! Then he checked his bank account, making sure nothing weird was happening there. All safe and sound. After that he checked his email … something in there from Mom. He opened it and skimmed the first paragraph, making sure she wasn't in a state, freaking out over a fire or some shit like that, but it seemed to be just news from home. Leaving it open, he navigated to the _Tsundere Veterinarian_ chatroom. He checked the list … Whitey was there. But he was talking with someone about the manga, so Cloud didn't interrupt. Instead he read his Mom's email. (Whitey hadn't been there when Cloud checked the chatroom earlier, which made sense actually, with the time change.)

They'd had a huge snowstorm in Nibelheim – Cloud had already heard about it on the news. 18 inches and she was really missing her little blond snow-shoveler. One of his cousins was getting married this summer, she was wondering if he'd be able to come home for it. Probably. She thanked him for the money he'd sent her last week. His cat, Boo, seemed to miss him very much, she thought … the kitty slept on his bed every night. Cloud frowned. That was one thing he was still kinda upset about: leaving his cat behind. But he'd had her since she was just a kitten, and she'd never known anything other than that house in Nibelheim. He was afraid she was too old (she was 10) to handle such a drastic change in her life, at this time in her life. So he'd left her behind. Maybe when he was able to get a bigger place …. He sighed and glanced at the chatroom again.

Whitey: Hi, Nimble

Pause.

Whitey: Gaia to Nimble, come in.

Shorter pause.

Whitey: Yo, Nimble, you there? ?

Whitey: HEH NIMBLE! ARE YOU BLIND?

Whitey: The rules say if you're going to be afk you have to put it behind your nick. :P

Whitey: If you fall asleep on your keyboard, you'll drool on it and short it out. XD Then your hair will catch fire and—

Cloud laughed and typed, _Man, you just have waayy too much time on your hands, don't ya. Lol_

Whitey: Hey lurker!

Nimble: Naw … just readin' an email from my Mom.

Whitey: k

They chit-chatted about lots of things, but mostly about _Tsundere Veterinarian_. They agreed that the vet's new receptionist was probably going to be a new love interest in his life … because she was just as much a tsundere as he was, and in the last issue he'd had a huge fight with his fiancé (now ex-fiancé) and they'd broken up. She'd wanted him to take sensitivity classes and he'd told her the classes were a load of crap. Now he was drinking his sorrows away and letting his apartment go … the run-in with the cockroaches had been absolutely hilarious, they both agreed … and his mood was even _more_ grouchy. (Except with the animals, of _course_!) But the new receptionist was giving it right back to him – so funny! – and it looked to both men like she was _perfect_ for the veterinarian.

Whitey: I see that the date for your town is still on.

Nimble: Yep! Just checked it myself.

Whitey: Got my tickets yesterday, so I'm definitely gonna be there. :D

Nimble: Excellent!

Whitey: Yeah. Man, I can't wait. I think my friend might come, too … but he's not interested in the book signing, he's just going for the night life and to cruise chicks.

If "Nimble" had known "Whitey" in real life, he'd've been snorting at the contradiction of the phrase "cruise chicks" coming from Sephiroth. He _never_ said things like this. Never. It was a testament to the level of anonymity … and the comfort he felt … in this particular chatroom, and with Nimble.

Nimble: LMAO

Whitey: yeah

Nimble: Well, he'll find plenty of them here.

Whitey: He'll be glad to hear that.

Sephiroth always wondered just how much he could say to his online friend. He felt close to Nimble, and yet he didn't know his name, what he did for a living, what he looked like, nothing. They had a sort-of unwritten pact to keep it all about the manga, although they'd strayed a bit in to each other's real lives before. But now that the weekend was approaching, and Seph was gonna be in Nimble's town … he was starting to feel strange for not bringing it. Swallowing his misgivings, Sephiroth typed.

Whitey: So hey … you still wanna meet up?

Nimble: yeah! :D

Whitey: Ok, then. Cool. Is it okay if we figure it all out next time, though? I just got in not too long ago, been drinkin', and I'm about ready to pass out here.

Nimble: Pretty late there. And I've gotta get goin', too, work starts at 2.

Whitey: I'll look for ya tomorrow.

Nimble: Excellent! See ya then.

Cloud logged out, then closed out his email and shut the laptop, leaving it on the little table. There were lots of boxes to unpack tonight, a lot of stocking to do, since the manager liked to get ready for the weekend early. So he leapt to his feet, tied his apron around his waist and slipped on his gloves. He grabbed up the clipboard and scanned it … yeah, lots of stuff tonight. Tossing his soda can into the recycle bin, he clocked in and got busy.

XXX

Lunch time, roughly 5:30 a.m. Cloud was already wiped out, having worked his ass off to get all the product unloaded and put away on their proper shelves. He'd even done the freezer goods, which he _hated_ and so normally left until last. Today his lunch consisted of a quickie microwave convenience store bento he'd bought (with his employee discount) about a half-hour ago. He pulled it out of the microwave and hustled it over to the table, grabbed a bottle of OJ from the employee fridge, and sat down.

His laptop was already powering up on the tabletop. He went to his email directly this time, and typed out a nice long letter of lies to his mother. No reason for her to worry her son was working as a host … if she knew that it'd fill her head with all kinds of strange ideas and she'd never give him a moment's peace. Yes, yes … Cloud's mother loved him, of course she did. And she wanted what was best for him. But that didn't mean he'd come out to her … yet. Yes, he'd said "yet"! He was going to come out to her, he really was, but he just hadn't done it. Yet. He sighed. Too many lies. Jesus. At least he was careful to deny the existence of a girlfriend. He knew better than _that_, at least!

What Cloud's mother thinks: Cloud is a salaryman working in marketing and advertising for Ray Zhou, the owner of several hotels and nightclubs in different cities on the Western Continent. (Ray's holdings were real … always intersperse lies with as much truth as possible.) He didn't have a steady girlfriend, but he was dating. (Was he ever. Well, sort-of.) He has a nice apartment on the beach, and is looking for a house. (Who isn't? Houses are somewhat rare and extraordinarily expensive in Costa Del Sol.)

There was plenty of truth in what he told his mom, too, though. He was eating right, he was healthy, he was working out, and he was – all in all – happy. He told her some humorous stories about working at the convenience store. He confessed that he missed her. He missed Boo. He missed his grandmother, his aunts, his cousins. He missed snow, sometimes … since our Cloud was quite the snow-boarder and skier. He was making plenty of money and would send her some more, soon, because he knew how hard it was to be all on your own. But he was glad to be in Costa Del Sol and out on his own. The things that had happened back in Nibelheim – he didn't really think about it at all anymore, so she could quit worrying about that. Her only son was doing _just fine_.

He did not tell her that he had seen Tatamine-sensei. That would be breaking the code of silence. If the teacher wanted anyone to know that he'd made a trip to Costa Del Sol, he could tell them himself. It certainly wouldn't come from Cloud.

Once the email was done, he logged onto the _Tsundere Veterinarian_ chatroom and scanned the list of participants quickly. He hadn't thought he'd see Whitey there at this time, and he was right. But he could still contact him, using the site's email provider. Hmm. They hadn't actually done anything like this before, but it should be okay, right? Well, he'd soon find out: if Whitey didn't want to receive emails from other chatters, it wouldn't allow Cloud to type his nick in the "send to" field. It did allow it. So he continued.

"_Hey, Whitey,"_ he typed. _"I know it might be kinda weird for me to email ya, but oh well. I guess I must be weird. lol Anyway, you said you're coming to town, so I wanted to go over Sensei's schedule with you. The first night, Friday, things don't start up until 5 pm. They're opening up the convention center at the Seaside Grand … there'll be food and vendors, all that stuff … and Sensei will speak at 8 pm in the Grand Ballroom, with a question-and-answer period after. After that it'll stay open until midnight for ppl to just talk and buy stuff, and there'll be drinks. On Saturday things start up early! Sensei will be on hand from 9 am til noon signing his books (yes!), and then the convention center will be open all day, but he has another book signing /and/ another question-and-answer period from 4-9 pm. Things wrap up at midnight on Saturday … BUT I heard that, if the first two days go well and there's enough interest, Sensei will hold a brunch in the hotel on Sunday morning before he leaves to head home. I'm so psyched. So if you hadn't planned on staying from Friday to Sunday afternoon or Monday, I hope you can change your plans! Also, there's a great bookstore not too far from the convenience store where I work … there's a coffee bar inside where people gather to drink coffee and talk books, they have Wi-Fi, and all that. So think about it: if ya wanna meet up, that would be a good place. I'll leave the 'if' and the 'when' and all that, up to you. Once I get off work at 8 am Friday morning, I'm off until Tuesday! Unless I decide to do my other boss a favor, but I won't let that interfere with Tsundere Veterinarian! LOL Anyway, think about it, okay buddy? Later! Nimble"_

Did that sound too pushy? Too strange? Cloud read it over again, and he didn't think so. Shrugging, he went ahead and hit 'send'. He wanted to meet Whitey. They got along real good online, and they _never_ ran out of things to talk about, especially when it came to their favorite manga! Cloud didn't have anyone in Costa Del Sol that he could really talk about _Tsundere Veterinarian_ with, and he was feeling the lack.

Sighing, he looked at the clock. He still had 15 minutes. Well … what did he have scheduled for the upcoming week? He checked the most-recent email from Ray. Usually he let Cloud know if any of the people scheduling "karaoke" rooms had requested CS … what time they wanted … and then Cloud took it from there. As of now, there were three appointments in the upcoming week. Cloud frowned. Not enough! He looked at the first one. No names, of course, only initials. MR wanted to meet up with CS, first-timer, on Monday at 8 pm if possible. Special requests – Cloud's eyebrows went up. This guy wanted Cloud to meet him at the door, naked-apron style, and pretend to be his "bride". Cloud snickered. "Welcome back, husband-san! Would you like supper … or a bath … or _me_?" And that's exactly what he'd say, too. Ah, well. Hopefully he wasn't some fat old guy with bad teeth, but even if he was, Cloud's acting skills were up to the challenge. As long as he paid.

The second one was a repeat customer. BBB wanted to meet up with CS on Wednesday evening, whatever time, for four hours. Cloud knew who this was immediately, and grimaced a little. This guy always wanted things to be 'romantic' … he liked kissing and petting and crooning soft words while they snuggled on a futon, staring into each other's eyes. So far, these had been some of the longest hours of Cloud's LIFE. It had taken the man three visits to work himself up to touching Cloud's dick … and even then it was just to give him a hand-job. At this rate, it'd be Christmas before they fucked.

But again … oh, well. If that's what the guy wants, that what the guy gets, as long as he PAID.

Customer number three was the two kids again, for Thursday night. Cloud grinned. Last night's little episode had really turned them on, eh? Must have, since they'd already made another appointment. The older teen was rolling in cash, paid the fee and had – so far – tipped Cloud well at the end of things. Even though they hadn't really done much!

At the first meeting, Cloud had spent most of it observing the two guys and asking them questions. They'd talked and had some sodas and munchies, getting to know them and trying to figure out what they wanted. So far all they'd done on their own was some heavy kissing and fumbling around, but things had quickly stalled, for reasons they didn't know how to put into words. That they really liked each other was apparent, but things weren't progressing and both were getting anxious and worried – on top of having a terminal case of blue-balls! But Cloud had put them at ease, and told them as they were leaving that they'd get to the bottom of things – no pun intended, of course. He'd only charged them half-price for that visit.

Last night, Cloud had decided that it was time to figure out what was going on with them. He had a pretty good idea, but wanted to be sure. So when they'd come to the door of his karaoke room, when he opened the door he was wearing nothing but a towel around his hips. "Hey, guys," he'd casually said, "come on in." Issei, the older, taller one, had blushed and averted his eyes. Todo, the younger, had grinned brightly and come on in, looking at Cloud with interest. "Tonight we're gonna find out what's going on with you two," Cloud had continued, settling himself on the fold-down futon couch while they each took a chair facing him.

"Now … I've kinda got a good idea what's going on, but I don't think you guys do. So here." He spread his legs and lifted his knees, then whipped the towel out of the way. His dick and balls – along with his asshole – were clearly in view. He watched them, then covered up again. "Okay … what was the first thing that caught your eye when I displayed myself?" he asked, smiling.

"Your d-dick," Issei said.

"Your entrance," Todo said at the same time.

_Entrance_. 'Nough said. "Okay, so, I'm right. Wanna know what the problem is?"

"Yes," they both said, again at the same time.

"Issei … you might think because you're older and bigger, that you should have the seme role. But that ain't how you're wired. You're the uke here, and Todo – you're the seme." He paused to let that sink in. "Up to now, you've been fighting that, trying to make things work the opposite way. But, I don't think that's gonna work for you guys."

"Oh," Todo said, sliding a glance toward his boyfriend.

"Oh!" Issei said, in full blush. "Th-that … I mean … you …." He sputtered to a stop, hands clenched in his lap.

"Look, it's nothing to be ashamed of or worried about," Cloud said. "I mean, look at me. You might think I act like a seme, but I'm what you call a switch. You guys know what that means, right? Top or bottom, I can do either, and I like'em both." They appeared skeptical. "You don't believe me? Okay, Issei … watch this. And it's for teaching purposes only, remember, so don't start feeling weird about stuff."

Cloud got up and took the two steps that would bring him in front of Todo. He sat down on the boy's lap, sideways, bridal-style. Gone was the self-assured young host, now a sweet-looking young blond man stared up into Todo's face. Todo grinned down at him, slipping his arms around Cloud and pulling him in closer. "You can touch me if you want to," Cloud said, tucking his face into the hollow of Todo's neck. He peeked at Issei … he was watching avidly, mouth partly open, his cheeks aflame.

Todo didn't wait for more urging. His fingers immediately went to Cloud's nipples. "Look, Issei … what a nice color Cloud-senpai has here," he said, rubbing his fingers across a taut nubbin, taking it in between his thumb and index finger and squeezing it gently.

"You're getting hard, Todo-san," Cloud murmured, wriggling slightly in the boy's lap.

"T-Todo," Issei said on a gasp.

Todo laughed lightly, then dropped his hand to Cloud's lap and petted his cock through the towel. "You're getting hard, too, Cloud-senpai," he said, his voice deepening as his arousal amped up.

"Mm," Cloud hummed. He risked another peek at Issei. His eyes were glued on Todo's hand, where it caressed Cloud's dick. A glance at the boy's crotch revealed a nicely-sized bulge. Okay, good. "Issei-san, come here," Cloud said softly, beckoning with his left hand. Issei stood up stiffly, then moved to stand in front of Cloud and Todo. Cloud took his hand and tugged, wordlessly asking the teen to kneel down in front of them. He did so, cheeks aflame.

"Issei," Todo murmured, looking at his boyfriend, his hand still rubbing Cloud's now fully-erect member.

Cloud slid his arm around Issei's neck and pulled him in closer, then nuzzled his neck, working his way to the younger guy's mouth. He kissed him softly, licking his lips, until Issei responded, opening his mouth to receive Cloud's tongue.

"Oh, yeah," Todo rasped, watching avidly.

Cloud began to very slowly lean back, pulling Issei with him, then, with his right arm wrapped around Todo's neck, pulled him forward to meet them. The three-way kiss was electric, even Cloud was not immune to this kind of thing. Issei was trembling as Todo freed his left hand to lightly run his fingers along Issei's zipper – even as his right slid under Cloud's towel to encircle his twitching cock.

But Cloud wasn't here to 'interfere' with the budding relationship between these two. He was only here to help. And 'taking over' Issei's spot wasn't going to help anything! So he slid off Todo's lap, keeping a grip on Issei. "Todo-san, spread your legs," he said softly. It was quick work to unzip Todo's jeans and get his dick out. "Issei-san … come. Let's make Todo-san feel _good_."

Todo couldn't believe his eyes. Or his luck. He felt like shouting out his thanks to the gods. Here he sat, leaning back on a soft chair like a king, legs spread, two cute guys licking his cock. He was trying to keep his head, he didn't wanna come too soon, he wanted to enjoy this for a while, goddammit! But it was _so_ damn good! Cloud's talented tongue, Issei's blushing face and soft lips, he'd never been this hard before, never! He could hear Cloud murmuring little suggestions to Issei, little instructions, which Issei seriously listened to and obeyed. Soon Cloud was licking his scrotum while Issei sucked enthusiastically on the head of his cock, eyes closed, blushing cheeks looking so _cute_! His pink tongue emerged to lap at Todo's swollen head – he heard Cloud-senpai whisper something and then Issei stuck the tip of his tongue into Todo's slit and _wiggled it _… oh no. Dammit, no! Not yet! "A—already!" he growled through gritted teeth.

"Issei-kohai," Cloud said softly, "wrap your lips around the head … that's right, seal it … now suck. Use your hand to stroke his shaft … yes, just like that. When he comes in your mouth, take it all in, suck it out, and swallow it."

It was the word "swallow" that send Todo over the edge, no matter how much he wanted this to last. His body went rigid, he growled, "Ah, man, yes!" and came helplessly as Issei opened his eyes to look up into his face. His cum spurted out for what felt like forever, felt so fucking good! He saw Issei's throat move as he swallowed and another jolt of pleasure shot up his spine, sending another gout of semen into his beloved's mouth. "Nnh!" Todo grunted, burying his fingers in Issei's hair.

He didn't notice that Cloud was no longer snuggled in between his legs anymore. He was standing off to the side, his towel back in place, still sporting a cheerful boner. He was watching Issei's technique, hand on the back of the boy's neck. "Good," he murmured. Fuuuck. He was gonna have to wank one off after this! Too cute.

Now it was Issei's turn. Cloud directed him to remove his jeans – which he did, still blushing but so terminally turned-on he didn't hesitate – and to climb onto Todo's lap, straddling him, facing him. Todo didn't need to be told what to do, he kissed Issei lovingly as he used his hand, stroking off his boyfriend. "Just do it like you do yourself, Todo-san," Cloud said, approving. When Issei came, gasping and moaning (again – so cute!) Todo smiled up at him, pulling him in close and telling him how much he loved him.

Cloud was across the room by then, and went into the bathroom to get changed. He resolutely thought of unsexy things like Ray's ashtrays and naked women until his erection calmed down, then got dressed and came back out. Issei was still on Todo's lap, panting. But both looked happy and satisfied.

"Okay, so you guys can pretty much take it from here, right? I mean, you can go online and find out what to … do … uh," Cloud slowed to a stop. "What?"

Todo was shaking his head over Issei's shoulder. "But Cloud-senpai … you're so much better than any book."

Issei took his lead from Todo, looking at his boyfriend before turning his head to give Cloud a quick glance. "Isn't it okay, Cloud-senpai? To come back and … learn from you?"

Cloud shrugged. "It's your money, Issei-kun," he said, grinning. "Sure. Just make the appointment online and request me. But next time? We're goin' all the way, guys. So Issei … make sure you're clean. Know what I'm sayin'?"

Issei nodded, trying not to blush, but failing. Cloud smiled. "Cool. Today, that'll be … 400 gil." Issei had paid, and they'd left, holding hands until they got outside. And now here was their reservation, already back for more. Cloud was kinda surprised, knowing teenagers he'd've thought that they would have already found their own way, so to speak. But they seemed to really want some "instruction", so … whatever. More gil for Cloud! Excellent.

Moments later, Cloud came back to himself, jumping up from his chair and inches away from slapping himself across the face. He'd been sitting there, remembering how tenderly Todo had treated Issei, how their love-making had a special aura to it, how it was so different from the tawdry sex he had with his customers. He had been _yearning_. No fucking way. Cloud Strife had no use for romantic love. Friendship, great. Familial love, all for it. But romantic love? No _fucking_ way. It was nothing but trouble. It caused nothing but heartache. You couldn't trust people. You couldn't trust that things were _real_, and even if you lucked out and it was real, you definitely couldn't trust that it would _last_. He should feel sorry for Issei and Todo, instead of the longing that had been seeping through his veins a minute ago. Their relationship would end up in heartache, it almost always did. Not 100% of the time, Cloud wasn't _that_ much a cynical prick, but _most_ of the time. Most of the time, people ended up unhappy, broken, hurt, empty, crying, scarred.

But he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he got another soda and grabbed the broom. Lunch was over, time to sweep! He smiled at Quinn when he walked out into the store proper, then headed outside to sweep. The sky was brightening in the east. It was nice. He leaned on the broom handle for a few minutes, admiring the sky, listening to the birds wake up, hearing the sound of the surf from two streets over. Nice. This was his life. He slurped soda, then sat the can down on the windowsill and began to sweep. He whistled softly as the broom's bristles pushed the ever-present sand off the sidewalk and into the street.

This was Cloud Strife's life. And it was just _fine_.

**End Chapter 2**

**Thanks for reading! XD**

**Ahvienda**


	3. Chapter 3 -- A Fateful Meeting

**Chapter 3 – A Fateful Meeting**

**Warnings: yaoi sex. Violence and mild gore. Naughty language.**

**Same disclaimer as usual – and I'm still kinda grumpy about that!**

General Sephiroth strode out onto the parade grounds. Relative silence met his arrival … the only sound was the flapping of the flags in the wind and the 'creak' of his leather clothing. You know that sound. It's a _good_ sound. The same breeze that fluttered the flags also blew his long white hair back off his face, revealing the frown he wore. It wasn't an angry frown, it was a _serious_ frown. There's a difference. Especially when you're talking about the General.

He carried his sword in his right hand. Since there was no way to effectively, safely wear Masamune in either a hip sheath or behind his back (not without knocking people down around him), carrying it was the only way. It was longer than Sephiroth was tall, seven feet long to his 6'1". It was the sword of the General of the ShinRa Armies, and it was almost as famous – and infamous – as its owner. But not quite.

Every eye was on him. Every single person on the parade grounds – the ranks of SOLDIERs and infantrymen lined up for inspection, the VIPs and spectators in the stands, all of them watched him cross the field and walk up the steps onto the review stand, then stride to the podium. Many people (women, especially) were holding their breath. The world seemed to stop as he stood there, his long white hair astir in the breeze, his green eyes intense as he visually scanned the men. Everyone, every_thing_ waited for him to speak. When he did, there was almost a collective gasp, the release of pent-up breath.

The world, as they say, was General Sephiroth's oyster.

But Sephiroth _hated_ oysters – slimy disgusting things, like trying to force yourself to eat a slug for gods' sakes. A pile of snot. So let's come up with a different metaphor, shall we?

The world was _his_. Let's just leave it at that.

The sound system was exquisite. When the General began to speak, every nuance of his voice was picked up with amazing clarity. "Good morning," he said. A shudder seemed to move through the crowd like a wave. His gloved right hand gripped Masamune, letting the tip of the sheath rest on the stage near his right foot. The other hand gripped the podium. "Once again we gather together here to recognize the efforts of our brothers in arms, their skills and determination, the sheer guts it takes to move up the ranks and become a SOLDIER."

The advancing members were called forward and recognized, medals were pinned on chests, hands were shaken, backs were slapped … a speech was given by the President of ShinRa. Tseng came up and joined Sephiroth at one point, making his own speech and giving recognition to his Turks. It all went off like clockwork. The General was a stalwart, steady presence through it all … the visual representative of the strength and honor of the service. A man's man.

If any of them had seen him last night, wrapped up in a ratty old robe and sitting on his couch, laughing like a loon as he read Chapter 10 of his favorite manga, they would have doubted their sanity.

When it ended, nobody left. Up on the podium, Sephiroth was chatting idly with Tseng. The two men stood close together, their heads almost touching, discussing the situation in Wutai in low, private tones. Black and white, both tall and flat-out _gorgeous_ … the media were taking photos and cell phones were snapping pictures all over the place, it sounded like a plague of locusts descending on the parade grounds.

Sephiroth noticed that Tseng smelled good. But he couldn't ask the head of the Turks about his cologne, for gods' sakes, that would be totally out of character and kinda creepy. Instead he shook hands with Tseng, gave him a faint, tight-lipped smile, and nodded.

Zack was there. As usual, he was shaking his head as he mentally compared the amazing General to Mr. Glasses Otaku. "Why don't we ever have a band at these things?" he muttered to Seph under his breath.

"Because bands suck."

"You could have them learn to play the theme song from _Vet Vs. Wild_," Zack whispered, grinning. _Vet Vs. Wild_ was one of Sephiroth's favorite TV shows. He had actually met the host, 'Grizzly' Bayer, once … but it was while Seph was in his General persona and so he hadn't been able to _really_ talk with the man about his show.

They were supposed to have breakfast afterward, so Zack made his way through the crowds at Sephiroth's elbow. It wasn't until the General descended the stage steps and walked back across the field to the waiting cars that the crowd began to disperse. Infantrymen held the crowd back from the cars and the departing VIPs. Zack and Sephiroth walked toward a plain black sedan.

"It gets worse every year," Sephiroth complained.

"Hey, you're popular, what do you expect?" Zack replied.

"Sucks," Seph muttered as they neared the President's son, Rufus. He stopped and greeted the playboy goof-off good-for-nothing (as Sephiroth thought of him), making a joke about cutting a path through to his car. Good thing Rufus didn't know that Sephiroth was only half-joking. Bet it would clear out pretty quickly if he pulled Masamune out of its sheath and sheared Rufus off at the knees. *sigh* Better not. Zack was looking at him sharply.

In the car, finally, Sephiroth was able to relax a bit. "Back to the office, General?" the driver asked politely.

"Yes."

"Hey, can you stop off at the mini-mart? I want some coffee," Zack said.

"Yes, sir," the driver replied, and signaled for a left turn.

Sephiroth just looked at Zack and sighed. "We have coffee at HQ, you know."

"Yep. But I like Zip Mart's coffee … come on, it'll only take a second."

"I'm not going in."

"You don't have to!"

"If you take longer than 4 minutes, I'll leave you there. I need to get to the office, I've got lots to do before …." Seph's voice trailed off as he stared out the window.

"Before we leave for Costa Del Sol!" Zack finished, crowing. "Dude I can't wait. Do you know how long it's been since I had a vacation?"

"One year, three months, fourteen days," the General replied absently.

"Odin," Zack breathed. "How long has it been since Kunsel had a vacation?" he continued, taking a chance.

"Six months and change."

Zack was open-mouthed and speechless, but only for a few seconds. "Man, get a hobby … no wait, don't! You'll pick cosplay and I'll find you going everywhere dressed as a veterinarian!" He laughed.

Sephiroth punched Zack in the arm – hard.

"Ow!"

"Keep your voice down, idiot," Sephiroth growled.

"He didn't hear me!" Zack hissed, rubbing his arm. "I think you fractured my humerus!"

"Let me see it."

"No! Never mind!"

Sephiroth grabbed Zack's arm and began manipulating it, rotating it in the socket, bending it at the elbow, twisting it this way and that – and all the while Zack yelled, "Ow! No – ah! Ouch!" Jeff flicked a gaze into the rear view mirror, a little smile on his face. It was always entertaining driving the General.

Sephiroth let it go and looked out the window again. "Not fractured."

"Why do I hang out with you. I'm beginning to wonder," Zack grouched, rubbing his bicep.

"You asked yourself that question three times this year – within _my_ earshot, anyway. I wish you'd come up with a conclusion. Then you could share it with me and I could laugh at you," Sephiroth said, a half-smile on his lips.

"Uh-huh. Don't push me. We puppies can be pretty nasty, you know." Zack's voice was practically dripping sarcasm.

"Gonna piss on my boots?" Seph asked with a snicker.

"We still need to discuss that little theory of yours. I'm going to ambush you with it when we're on the way to Costa Del Sol," Zack said, illogically.

"An ambush generally implies that the action is unknown to the ambushee."

"I want you to be ready. I want you to explain this in some detail."

"Sure. Be glad to."

The car pulled up in front of Zip Mart and Zack jumped out of the car. "Four minutes. Time me!" he shouted before slamming the door and running inside.

"Jeff … at three minutes, leave."

"Yes, sir."

XXX

Back at the office, Sephiroth surveyed the surface of his desk. It was littered with piles of papers waiting for his attention and/or signature. Mentally, he figured out how many days he had left and compared it with the number of things he still needed to do. Easy. Picking up the first item on his desk, he scanned it, checked something on his computer, and then signed it and tossed it onto the floor near his feet. One down, 78 to go.

The door opened and Zack entered, cup of coffee in one hand, a bag of breakfast burritos from the Chow Hall in the other. "Hey … I forgot to tell ya. I got the phone number of the girl working behind the counter at Zip Mart. Pretty little thing, redhead, tits out to here … AND, she has a friend who is interested in a double-date." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. (He'd made it back to the car in under three minutes. Obviously. Otherwise he'd be spitting mad. And late.)

"What happened to Rachel?" Sephiroth asked, although he wasn't really interested.

"Nothing happened to her," Zack replied. "We're not _going steady_ or anything like that. I'm dating, Seph … and so are you. Young handsome normal guys like us – we play the field. That's what dating's all about, right? Looking around until you find that special someone."

Sephiroth looked at Zack, right eyebrow up. He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. Gimme. Zack opened the bag of burritos and put 6 of them into Seph's hand. Who immediately tore open the wrapper on one of them and began wolfing it down.

"So anyway, this friend of hers is a blonde. Tall, Ginger said."

"A redhead named Ginger?" Sephiroth snickered.

"Stop it," Zack warned.

"Go on."

"So if we're leavin' for Costa Del Sol on Thursday night, we can sneak in a date with them … on … Wednesday …. Why are you shaking your head like that." Zack was frowning.

"I have too much to do."

"No, you don't. You'll be done by tomorrow night, knowing you. C'mon, we can go see a movie. What's on? What do you want to see?" Zack was talking excitedly, trying to infuse Sephiroth with some of his positive attitude.

"Something with zombies."

"No."

"Why not? There are girls who like zombies." Sephiroth was frowning at Zack.

"These girls don't like zombies."

"How do you – whatever. Forget it. But if you think I'm going to go see anything with Matthew McConna-hickey in it, you can for-fucking-get it." Seph snatched up the next piece of paper on the pile nearest his right hand.

"We don't have to go see his movies. Let me check what's on at the drive-in." Zack whipped out his PDS and started paging through the web link.

"Drive-in? They still have those?" Sephiroth asked mildly.

"You _know_ they do. Asswipe. Here …. Three screens at the Midgar Midway. They're showing 'Wutaian Knights' … a romantic com–"

"No."

"Second screen: 'Climhazardous Duty'. No, they won't like that. Third screen … here we go … 'The Summons' … half courtroom drama, half magic … you'd like that one, wouldn't you? It was filmed on location in Mideel." Zack looked at Sephiroth hopefully.

"I'll check out the reviews and the synopsis and let you know." Sephiroth was distracted. He was nomming his third breakfast burrito and reading a troop strength statement.

"Well, you're busy. I'll just let you get on with it, then."

"Mm-hmm."

"I'll tell the Ginger to save the date, that we might be going to the movies, but not sure yet. Okay?"

"Mm-hmm." Sephiroth's pen made scritching noises as he signed a paper.

"We can dye your hair pink and go shopping for shoes to match." Zack was smirking.

"I don't look good in pink. Now get out."

XXX

Across the ocean in Costa Del Sol, things were heating up as the big weekend grew nigh. Oh, maybe it wasn't a huge deal, like a visit from President Shinra or the arrival of the latest idol … but within certain circles it was a very big deal, and everyone in those circles was very excited. Cloud Strife for one.

Currently, he was hanging out on a bench across the street from the Seaside Grand, watching workers hang up a big colorful banner announcing the coming event. Excitement jittered across Cloud's nerves. He could not wait. He snapped a pic of it and sent it to Whitey via the chat email server. He knew his friend would want to see it.

XXX

Back in Midgar, Sephiroth's phone chirped. He picked it up, thumbed the access, and stared at the screen. A genuine smile curved his lips and lit him up like a beacon. It changed his whole face, erasing years from his visage, making him look like a teenager again. Anyone seeing him would have been stunned at the change. General Sephiroth rarely had occasion to _really_ smile.

The pic showed the Seaside Grand, where some men were hanging up a banner that said, "FEBRUARY 22nd – 24th *** M. KITANO *** 'TSUNDERE VETERINARIAN' *** WELCOME!" He hurriedly keyed in a reply … "Dude!" … and hit 'send'. Lucky Nimble got to be right there, watching the preparations. While unlucky Whitey had to stay in cold, gray Midgar, slogging away at his job and going on fucked-up dates with girls who didn't match him. He rubbed his forehead, frowning … but then looked at the pic again. It looked sunny and warm and inviting. Nimble had titled it "wish you were here – LOL". Sephiroth smiled again. He couldn't wait for the weekend.

XXX

Cloud grinned as he checked out Whitey's reply. They still hadn't had a chance to talk over when they were going to meet … would Whitey want to meet on Friday? Before everything started? Cloud hoped so. It would be so cool to have someone to hang with all through the weekend, although that was being kinda optimistic. Who knew if they'd even get along? What if Whitey was, like, 80 years old and had breath that would stop a clock? Or maybe he wore sandals so that he could pick his feet with impunity. Or was one of those weird people who thought bathing daily was bad for you. Cloud sighed, looking up at the banner. Oh, well … he guessed he'd find out in less than a week. If Whitey was some kinda weirdo, then Cloud would ditch him and that would be that. They could stay online 'friends', if that relationship survived the ditching.

_Well, no use crying over spilled milk before it's even spilled!_ he told himself. Getting up off the bench, he dusted off his battered jeans and slung his pack over his right shoulder. Time to be getting to Ray's. He had an appointment. With Mr. Naked Apron. Fun fun. Cloud grinned, shaking his head. Lots of people liked naked apron. And why not? Hell, he liked the idea too. Coming home to find someone in the kitchen, making a meal … and then they turn around and you discover that underneath their apron, they're totally nude. Whew! What a turn-on. And Cloud had some good ideas for the evening's festivities. Some of the items he required were in his pack right now. Smirking, he turned and began loping down the street towards Ray's.

XXX

The room was perfect. Soft music played, the table was set, and Cloud was just finishing up getting all the food ready. Noodles and fried meat were on platters on the counter opposite the door. He tied the top strings of the apron around his neck, then tied the others behind his back at his waist. Time? Yep, just about. Everything was ready. It just needed MR to show up. A knock at the door. Right on time! "Come in!" Cloud sang out, turning around to make his way to the door. It opened, and Cloud kept the surprise off his face, instead keeping it warm and welcoming. "Welcome home!" he said, smiling, gesturing with the cooking chopsticks in his right hand.

"I'm home," MR said, smiling back. He came inside and shut the door behind him, turning the lock.

Cloud approached, looking up – up – up into the tall man's face. "Would you like your meal … a bath … or … me?!" Accompanied by a little laugh. The bath was out of the question … he was counting on the customer knowing that.

"Let's skip the bath until later, honey," MR said. He leaned in confidentially and whispered, "And it's Matthew. I'm glad you were able to move me up from 8:00." Cloud helped him off with his suit jacket, feeling the man's eyes on his red flouncy apron and the red bow tying his hair back.

"My pleasure, Matthew-sama," Cloud said flirtatiously. "You're home early, and you've worked hard," he continued, leading the man to the table and seating him on a cushion. "Tea? Or would you like to … eat?" He lowered his eyes as he said this. Seme in a big way, if he was reading his tricks correctly. He was usually pretty good at it.

"You offered me a bath, a meal, or you," Matthew said easily, holding Cloud's hand. "How about if we combine the last two?" With a wide sweep of his arm, he cleared the table of all the items Cloud had so carefully placed – plates, cups, flatwear, unlit candles – and pushed Cloud down to lay on the table. Matthew untied the apron and pulled it away, revealing Cloud's naked body. Hiding his irritation at the ruination of all his good work, Cloud smiled shyly and put his hands over his genitals.

XXX

Now he was lying on the table, the red bow now tied tightly around his dick, piles of noodles and meat all over his body. Matthew had decided to eat his meal off of Cloud's naked skin. He sat on the cushion to Cloud's right, picking food off him with chopsticks and using his free hand to pet and tweak and play. He'd lean in to lick some sauce off Cloud, put little bits of food in Cloud's mouth, sharing drinks of sake with him, mouth-to-mouth.

Cloud had goose bumps, his nipples were hard, and his cock was straining against the ribbon. He'd defy anyone to not get turned on by the physical onslaught Matthew was providing. And the man had been sporting a hard-on of his own practically since he'd walked in the door. He was still fully dressed, currently chewing a fish cake he'd taken off Cloud's erect left nipple. He swallowed, then leaned over Cloud and licked and sucked the nipple, making Cloud's chest heave as his breath quickened.

"Mmm. It's so good," Matthew said, peering up at Cloud's face. Lick, lick.

"Ah!" Cloud replied, trying to hold still. The "platter" couldn't move. That was one of the rules.

It seemed to take forever for Matthew-sama to finish his meal. But finish he did, finally licking all the sauce off Cloud's body, ending by pouring sweet and sour sauce all over his cock and balls, licking it clean – twice! Cloud was practically beside himself from wanting to come. "M-Matthew-sama," he said breathlessly. The table was littered with bits of meat, noodles, puddles of sauce and sake … and Matthew flipped Cloud over right into it. When his bound dick came into contact with the table, Cloud's body reacted by raising his hips and spreading his knees.

"Ohh … good boy," Matthew-sama breathed, running his hands over Cloud's buttocks. Sound of a zipper. Pungent sauce poured all over Cloud's ass, sluicing down his crack, running over and dripping off his balls. Hands, kneading the sauce into Cloud's every crack and crevice. A slick finger dipped into his opening, sliding in deep, back out again. Joined by a second finger, slippery insertion, scissoring and stretching. Cloud moaned, quite honestly. It felt really _really_ good.

"Like that, don't you, my pretty little bride," Michael-sama said, just as he added a third finger. Stretching, going in up to the knuckles, reaching … searching … _finding_.

"Ah!" Cloud gasped, past all point of acting. There was no need for it now. "Ahh!" he moaned deliciously as his prostate was massaged. His hips pivoted, his back arched, his knees spread a bit further. Cloud was 'presenting' … the body signaling its readiness to mate.

"Good _boy_," Matthew growled, sliding on a condom and lining up his cock. He couldn't resist this, no way! He slid it home in one smooth sweet push, til their balls smacked together. Matthew pressed it in all the way, holding tight to Cloud's hips, grinding it a bit, listening to the soft cries of his bride. "Ohh yeah," he groaned, slowly pulling it back out again. He reached down and fondled Cloud' balls, enjoying the way it made the blonde cry out in pleasure.

"M-more! Please! Matthew-sama, give me more of you!" These were acting lines delivered with truthful desire. Cloud's bound dick was throbbing, almost painful … but the fucking was so so _good_.

"Yes, baby. You've been such a good little bride today … let daddy make you feel special," Matthew said, and began a slow steady slide in and out of Cloud's slick opening, speeding up slightly when Cloud begged for it, finally losing all thoughts of control when it just felt too fucking great to hold back.

"C-coming … ah, gods, I can't! Please! Please!" Matthew almost came when Cloud shouted these words, but instead he reached under Cloud's body and untied the ribbon.

"Let's come together," Matthew said, "my cute bride." He fucked the living hell out of Cloud then, until yeah – he got his wish and they came at the same time, practically, their cum mingling with the sauce and smashed food on the tabletop.

XXX

"Don't forget to clean up, now, darling," Matthew-sama was saying as he tied Cloud's apron back on, petting the globes of his ass with proprietary hands.

"I will, Matthew-sama," Cloud said, trying his damndest not to show how bored he was with all this and would the guy just LEAVE already?

"I'll be home late today," the man said, turning Cloud around and taking him in his arms. "You've worked hard … get some rest. I'll see you later." He gave Cloud a peck on the cheek and turned away, looking for his jacket.

"That will be 600 gil, Matthew-sama," Cloud said as the man turned away. "Don't forget." He was smiling, but his eyes were firm and unwavering.

"I'll pay you the next time … that's what Ray-san agreed to," Matthew said, picking up his suit coat.

"Nope," Cloud said, hands on his hips. "Ray doesn't take care of my stuff, I do. 600 gil, Matthew-san. If you please." Gone was the blushing bride, the willing playmate, the sexual dynamo coming all over the table. Cloud was in business mode. He'd never been stiffed by one of his tricks and by the gods he wasn't starting now.

"Well," Matthew said, looking at Cloud. "Maybe Matthew-sama will call the police and turn in a little blond whore who's working the karaoke bar."

"Here," Cloud said, tossing a cell phone at Matthew, who fumbled with it but didn't drop it. "Use my cell. When you're done speaking, I'll talk to them too, if you don't mind."

"Wh-why?" Matthew looked truly puzzled.

"They like to take in the johns, too," Cloud said. "Deterrent. You know what they say – prostitution wouldn't exist if there weren't johns buying." His gaze was hard, now. He'd call Ray if he had to, but he didn't want to. This was Cloud's business.

"Why you little piece of shit," Matthew snarled. "I'm not paying you one thin gil, you–" He swung at Cloud, who ducked it. A tiny part of Cloud's mind was noting the ridiculousness of fighting clad only in a red apron, but it was a very tiny part. In two shakes, Matt was standing motionless in front of Cloud, who had the jerk's arm twisted painfully behind his back.

Cloud was on the phone. "Ray. Sorry, man … needja in here." He clicked off.

The door was unlocked and opened. Ray entered with a gun in his left hand. "What's going' on Cloudy?" he asked, sharp eyes on Matthew.

"Stiffin' me."

"No he ain't. Hey, asshole. You rammed yer business into my little friend here, and he took it, made it all memorable and shit for ya, too, I'm bettin'. So don't be a piece of shit. Pay the man and get the hell outta here." He held up his right hand, which held a cell phone. He snapped a picture of Matthew – after Cloud zipped out of the frame.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Matthew stammered, aghast, as he fumbled 600 gil out of his wallet and handed it to Cloud.

"Personal record. Don't come 'round here no more, dickhead. You ain't welcome. All my staff in all my stores will be watchin' out for ya. Now fuck off." He motioned Matthew out the door with the gun. "Paco!" he shouted.

"Yeah, Ray?" Paco, the bar's huge muscle-bound bouncer (the star of a few of Cloud's more imaginative wet dreams), answered from outside the door.

"Help our guest to exit 'dis establishment." Ray snickered at his own wit.

A big hand grabbed Matthew by the collar and dragged him out of sight. Ray shut the door. "Jesus, what happened in here?" he said, looking at the table and dishes.

"Business as usual, Ray-Ray," Cloud said, grinning as he tucked the money in his wallet. "Damn, I didn't think he'd try to stiff me. Son of a bitch. I couldn't read that in him at all."

"Well, in some guys, da assholeness runs too deep, y'know?" Ray said philosophically.

"I guess so," Cloud agreed.

"He didn't … y'know … hitcha or anything like that?"

"Might've tried," Cloud acknowledged.

"Heh-heh-heh," Ray snarked.

"I'll get this all cleaned up, Ray," Cloud said. "Thanks for comin' in."

"No problem! Like a little excitement around here sometimes. Reminds me of da good ol' days." He sighed dramatically. "Now all's I do all day long is sell sodie-pop and try to keep the kids from sneakin' in alcohol. Findin' used rubbers in the weirdest fuckin' places!" He shook his head, disgusted. "An' I swear, if I havta listen to "I Kissed a Girl" one more fuckin' time!"

"Update the music, Ray, for gods sakes!" Cloud said, laughing. It was an old argument. Eventually the ojiisan left and Cloud got to work cleaning up the room. Fuckin' Matthew. Fuck all those people who would do something like that.

Once the room was clean, Cloud went into the bathroom, tossing the apron into the laundry. Ugh. He looked like he'd been involved in a food fight. Which, in a way he guessed, he had! His ass hurt too … note to self: sweet 'n' sour sauce is _not _a good substitute for lube. Ah well. Too bad. Matthew could really fuck.

XXX

Sephiroth was in one of the simulation rooms that ShinRa had specially equipped for its personnel. Here, you could train in weights, hand-to-hand combat, weapons practice, magic practice, and even have a mock battle scenario if you wanted. Seph had just finished working with the weights. Now he was pumped up and ready to do some mock one-on-one battle simulations. He picked up Masamune and unsheathed it, walking slowly around the room, rolling his head on his neck ('crack-crack') and swinging his arms. A wavering form was just solidifying in front of him when his cell phone began to ring. Cursing fluently, he stomped over to it and flipped it open. "What!" he barked.

A brief pause, then, "Doctor. What can I do for you today?" he asked, placidly. The figure, now recognizable as a hologram demon, snarled at him and began to circle.

Sephiroth was listening. "Sorry, no can do. I'm going on vacation and will be gone for the entire weekend. Might be back on Monday, I haven't decided yet." The demon lunged and Sephiroth gave a half-hearted swipe with his sword. It missed but the creature backed away, growling.

"No, doctor, I repeat, no can do. You'll just have to reschedule." Stab and slash with the sword. A wound opened up and began bleeding on the demon's thigh. It howled and gibbered, dashing across the room to try to circle behind him. Not very bright, demons.

"That was a simulation. Now, you were saying you wished to contact the President about my taking time off? Please feel free to do so, although I can't imagine it doing much good." Sephiroth used Dash to practically _appear _at the creature's side, Masamune at the ready, the cellphone still pressed to his ear.

"Enough," he said sharply. "Pass on my greetings to Professor Hojo, and inform him that our appointment will have to be resheduled. I will do it myself upon my return. This conversation is boring and as such – it is _over_." He hung up. Threw the cell phone across the room. Grasped Masamune with both hands and swung it repeatedly at the demon, cutting it to ribbons before finally finishing it off by removing its head with surgical skill. Panting slightly from exertion and pissedoffedness, Sephiroth walked back over to his cell phone, picked it up, examined it, and sighed. Shit. Not again.

He cracked it open and removed the SIM card, then walked over to his bag and took out another, identical phone. Sometimes his temper got the best of him. Sometimes shit happened to phones out in the field. One way or the other, he'd learned to keep a back-up handy. He took off the cover and inserted the little card, reassembled it, turned it on, and checked for messages. The pic from Nimble was still there, safely stowed on the SIM card. He looked at it for a while, anticipating. Then he put the phone down on top of his bag and picked his sword back up again.

Now. Where was he? Ah, yes. Death and destruction. Next!

XXX

The intervening days _crawled_ by, no matter whose perspective you gained. Sephiroth was grouchy and irritable, imagining that someone had somehow cast Slow on the entire world. He snapped at subordinates, sliced innumerable enemies to bits in the simulation rooms, and had already packed by the time Wednesday rolled around. Zack steered clear, only poking his head in from time to time to see if his friend was still in one piece, and that he'd not killed anyone in a fit of pique.

On one of these occasions – in fact the aforementioned Wednesday, Zack found Sephiroth at his front door, unlocking it after a hard day's work. "Hey, buddy … just wanted to, y'know, confirm our drive-in date with Ginger and Stella to … night …." He stopped talking. Probably because Seph was looking at him, frowning, shaking his head. "What."

"Not going."

"Hey, now wait! I told 'em you were coming, man! You can't do this to me!" Zack's voice cracked on the word "do".

"Zachary … you are treading on dangerous ground." Sephiroth's voice was quiet and low, thrumming with ill intent.

"Don't use that voice on me, man," Zack snarled. He stepped up closer. "You said you'd go. Are you breaking your word?"

"I don't feel well," Sephiroth said, even as he stood there, the shining picture of good health.

"Man … come on. Nothing has to happen. I know that thing with Carola knocked you back a bit, but seriously, all this is is a movie. No big deal."

"You always say that and something always happens," Sephiroth growled, opening his door and stepping across the threshold. Zack followed him in.

"You looked at yourself lately, buddy?" Zack asked, exasperated. "You're a good-lookin' guy! Tall! Great body! What the hell do you expect? The women want you!"

Sephiroth made a rude noise with his lips and walked on into the kitchen, leaning Masamune against the counter next to the fridge. He opened it and got a bottle of oolong tea. Mmm, yeah. He'd been wanting this all day. He cracked it open and drank half the bottle, sighing afterwards.

"You even _drink_ sexy," Zack complained.

"Settle down," Sephiroth grouched, frowning. "If you touch me, you're going to be saying goodbye to a couple fingers."

"Hah! Like I would! It's only the ladies for Zack Fair, asshole!"

"Then quit sayin' that kind of shit," Sephiroth complained.

"Seph … it's true. What … do you really not know the effect you have on women? Gods, what a crime! Giving that body – that face! – to someone who doesn't know how to use them!" He put his hands into his hair dramatically, staggering around the room.

Sephiroth couldn't help it, he chuckled. He relented with a sigh. "Look. I want a woman who is attracted to my INSIDES, Zack, why the hell can't you understand that? These women who throw themselves at me like that, it's crass. It's demeaning – for them _and_ for me, dammit! "

"I know that. Haven't you told me enough times? But Seph, unless you get yourself out there and look, you're never gonna find that woman! Right?! Doesn't that make sense?" He was down to wheedling again. Gawd. The shit he went through for this big oaf.

"Okay. Look. I'll make a deal with you. Get me out of this tonight – will you just listen before you freak out?! Get me out of this one … and when we get back from Costa Del Sol I'll seriously listen to you and _try_. Okay?" Sephiroth felt a feeling of foreboding as he said these words. He hoped he wouldn't come to regret them.

"You'll become my whore-boy?" Zack said, grinning.

"What?!"

"Just kidding!" He was laughing now.

"Forget I said it!" Sephiroth was frowning again.

"No … no listen. All right. As long as you'll promise to really try. If you do, then it's a deal."

"I promise," Sephiroth said, all seriousness.

"Cool. Okay, I'm gonna call Ginger and tell her that you've been … called away. That makes sense, right?"

"Nice way to start out a relationship, lying to the woman." Seph was disapproving.

"All right then, genius … what do you want me to say?" Zack looked at Seph, curious to see how Sephiroth thought he should get out of this little pickle.

"Tell her the truth. I've got a trip coming up and don't have time this week. Simple." Seph finished the tea, tossing the bottle into the recycling.

"Got it. Okay … I gotta go … gotta call Ginger and hope she doesn't cancel on me, and get ready if we're still goin' to the show." He started for the door. "Oh, by the way – it's actually kinda good that you're not goin' … 'cause they decided the movie we're gonna see is 'Wutaian Knights'." He snickered at the look on Sephiroth's face.

"You suck."

"See ya later!" Slam.

Sephiroth was left shaking his head. But thank Odin he'd gotten out of it! 'Wutaian Knights' was the romantic comedy. No fuckin' thanks. His facial muscles could relax now – no fake laughing or smiling required. Sighing with satisfaction, he went into his bedroom to get showered and changed.

XXX

Nimble: So when are ya comin' in? :)

Whitey: I wanted to fly over Thurs night but couldn't swing it.

Nimble: Got a shitty boss holding you back?

Whitey: Naw. Just stuff to do. [_Seph laughed here. HE was the shitty boss!]_

Nimble: So Friday morning then, yeah?

Whitey: Yep!

Nimble: Excellent! XD

Whitey: yeah, I know

Nimble: So you wanna meet Friday around 2 pm? At the coffee shop?

_Sephiroth hesitated. Was he doing the right thing here? Was he being smart? Or was he letting his love of Tsundere Veterinarian and his joy at finding someone to share it with, override his common sense and logical thinking? He'd already decided to keep his "real life" out of it this weekend … which he could easily do if he kept his hair covered, that was his only dead giveaway out of uniform. It was too late, anyway. He'd told Nimble okay. He'd just be careful._

Whitey: Sure! Sounds good.

Nimble: Awesome. It's called 'Oh Lay', and it's about two blocks down the street from the Seaside Grand. Where are ya stayin' while yer here?

Whitey: I got some little cabana-thingie on the beach … lemme look …

Nimble: whoa. You got a Kopa Kabana?

Whitey: I think that's it. Why? Are they fleabags?

Nimble: No! Far from it! They're nice! Dude, how'd you manage it? I thought they'd been sold out for the season.

_Sephiroth knew damned good and well how he got it. ShinRa. _

Whitey: I think my company keeps one for its people.

Nimble: damn you're lucky! Lol

Whitey: lol I play the lottery, too.

Nimble: lmao!

XXX

Today! It was today! Friday had dawned bright and sunny, with a fresh breeze blowing in off the ocean. Cloud tried to sleep in but was too hopped up. He got up, went for a run, had breakfast, took a shower, and checked his email and his bank account. Looking at his watch, he smiled. Whitey was on a plane right now, somewhere over the ocean. Awesome. Cloud was really looking forward to this meeting, more than he'd looked forward to anything in a long time.

The morning crawled by. Cloud did finally manage to take a brief nap later on after lunch, but then it was time to get ready. He changed into a Tsundere Veterinarian sleeveless t-shirt – black, with a pic of the Vet and a Great Dane snarling at each other. (On the back, the dog was running away, tail between its legs.) He put on black jeans that were decorated with little chains and artfully torn holes. Black studded belt. Black and white trainers. He had silver and leather bracelets on his right wrist, watch on the left. He wore his earrings (both ears). He cleaned up his laptop and tucked his mp3 player into his pocket, draped his earbuds around his neck. He put on his sunglasses and let himself out of his apartment. He couldn't keep from smiling. In fact, as he walked down the sidewalk toward the coffee shop, he was whistling under his breath. He had a spring in his step, too. Cloud Strife was _happy_.

When he got to Oh Lay, he was staggered at the number of people already inside. He was early, it was only 1:30 – but the place was packed. Dismayed, he looked around over the heads of the people lined up at the counter. "Nana-chan! Nana-chan!" he shouted, "did you save me a table?"

"Of course, Cloud-kun … over there! The window, see?" She waved her hand toward the bank of windows that lined the right side of the shop. There in the corner, table was empty. Two chairs. Little sign on it that said "reserved".

"Nana-chan! I love you! I love you!" Cloud yelled over the noise, grinning, as he started working his way through the tables.

"Sure, sure," the proprietress said, rolling her eyes. "Next!"

Cloud settled in. He took out his laptop and plugged it in, accessed the Wi-Fi, and navigated to the Tsundere Veterinarian website. That was one window. On the other, he had scans of the entire story so far. They could look at it while they talked, point out different places that they especially liked, stuff like that. Cloud was psyched!

Okay, it was closing in on 2:00. Whitey had said he would be wearing a black hoodie and a black beanie, carrying a Tsundere Veterinarian backpack. Oh, and he wore glasses. Every time the little electronic indicator chirped as the door opened, Cloud looked up. Nope. Nope. 2:07. Is that him? – nope. Damn. Wait. There. Was that him? If it was, he was _tall_.

XXX

Sephiroth had had a hard time getting rid of Zack. "Don't make me regret letting you tag along, Fair!" he had snarled. "Go to the beach. Go ogle some women! Just leave me alone, I'm supposed to meet my friend!"

"Who?"

"Fuck OFF, Zack, it's none of your business! Now go, wouldja? You're going to make me late!" Sephiroth was sounding more and more strident.

Zack finally realized he wasn't wanted. Duh. "Heh, okay … okay, man. Yeah, the beach sounds terrific. Is … um … is that what you're wearing?"

Sephiroth slowly turned and faced Zack. What Zack saw there shut him up real fast.

"Well, ya look good. Okay … off I go. Have fun, man … I'll see ya later, okay?" Zack smiled (fake) and got outta there. Whoa. He stopped outside Seph's cabana and put a hand on his heart. Jesus Christ that guy could be intimidating. Then he grabbed up his towel and backpack and padded down to the waterline. Beautiful.

XXX

When Sephiroth reached Oh Lay, he finally got it. Cafe _Au Lait_. Jesus. He was glad he'd figured it out instead of asking Nimble about it later and looking like a total idiot. He stood outside for a bit, nervously, looking at all the people on the street and in the shop, and then opened the door and entered. He pushed his glasses up on his nose. Whoa. Lots of people. He did a quick visual scan, wondering which one of the guys sitting alone was Nimble. His gaze flicked over a redhead with painted eyes (yeesh), a blond near the windows, and brunets – lots of brunets. Nimble had said he'd be alone. Sephiroth cursed himself for not having Nimble describe himself. Now he felt like an idiot standing here – Wait. There. Kinda lank black hair, round glasses, slightly overweight … he had a stuffed Kitty-san from the series on his table. He looked up at Seph and stared, Sephiroth was just about to take a step forward … when he felt his hoodie sleeve tugged.

"Hey, Whitey … that you?" a slightly husky voice said from the vicinity of his right shoulder.

Sephiroth looked down and froze. Blond. Short – well, short compared to him. Spikey hair, earrings, muscular shoulders poking out from stretched t-shirt holes. He noticed all this in a split second, and then looked at that face. Blue eyes like nothing he'd ever seen before. They made Zack's look like two piss-holes in the snow. Then, Sephiroth's heart did something it had never done before … it, like, made a slow rollover in his chest. The sound, clearly audible inside Sephiroth's head, was "thadump".

The guy was looking up at him, kinda squinting one eye, smiling. "Hey, man … it's you, right? It's me, Nimble."

Sephiroth nodded, still stunned. What was he so stunned about? Was it because he'd made a mental picture of Nimble inside his head – one that the otaku with the stuffed Kitty-san fit much better – and reality was too different? Was it because he'd just never really met anyone who looked like Nimble … well, not in person anyway. Here's a clue: the word that popped into Sephiroth's head was: "cute".

"Come on, I got us a table. Jesus, Whitey, you're tall, man! You make me feel like a midget!" He laughed, the sound rang out like joy personified … and Sephiroth's heart did that _thing_ again. He stumbled after Nimble, and when they got over to the table, he fell more than sat down in the chair.

"Dude, you're looking kinda pale … have a bad flight over? Damn, you're white as a … shit. Here, hang on, man. NANA-CHAN!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. Sephiroth startled badly – Sephiroth! The General of the ShinRa Armies, the man with nerves of steel! "NANA-CHAN, HURRY! FRIEND-SAN IS FEELING FAINT!"

Sephiroth felt like he was in an alternate universe. 'Feeling faint' – had that been applied to _him_? He'd never felt faint a day in his life! Nimble was on his feet, gesturing toward the counter. Sephiroth turned his head in time to see an older woman vault over the counter and scurry towards them, pushing people out of her way. She was at his side in a heartbeat, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and forced his head down between his knees. "Cloud-kun, what you do to this poor man?!"

"Nothing! Nana-chan, nothing, I swear! He just flew over here from Midgar …." Sephiroth could hear the worry in Nimble's voice, but all he could see was the floor.

"Of course he not from Costa, fool! Nana-chan sees that! He too pale, he from the _cold_. It hot here! He not used to it, he get off the plane – BAM! Of course he faint! MINARA-TAN!" she yelled, and Sephiroth startled again. This was so surreal! "MINARA-TAN, BRING WATER FOR CUSTOMER-SAN!"

Trying desperately to recover his cool, Sephiroth raised his hand and patted Nana-chan's hand where it was still pressed against the back of his neck. She stopped yelling and took her hand off his neck, then pulled him upward by the shoulder. "You okay?" she asked, bending over to look into his face.

"Yes. I'm fine." He cleared his throat. "Thank you. Some water would be nice, however." Sephiroth had made the snap decision – only the General could rescue him from this outlandish situation. He was almost afraid to look across the table, he didn't want to see Nimble looking at him like he was a freak. But finally he did. Nimble was arguing with Minara-tan.

"No, he doesn't want water! He wants coffee! This is a coffee shop, Minara-tan, not a water shop, if we wanted water we'd go to a water shop!" Nimble glanced at Sephiroth and winked.

_Thadump_.

"What you mean, water shop, water shop? Fine, fine, two coffees, like you coffee, Cloud-kun? Same-same, Friend-san?" Minara-tan asked Sephiroth, but Cloud answered.

"Yes, please. Two grande mocha lattes, double shots of cinnamon espresso, with whipped cream and sprinkles. Chop chop, Minara-tan!" Cloud was openly grinning now, shooing the young waitress away with both hands.

Nana-chan snickered. She was still standing next to Sephiroth, her hand on his shoulder.

"Kaza–" Minara-tan turned to her mother, but at the look on Nana-chan's face, she composed herself. "Of course," the girl said, bowing. "One moment, please." They all watched her hurry away.

"Now … you okay, Friend-san?" Nana-chan patted Sephiroth's shoulder. He nodded, still feeling odd. What was going on with him? Was he developing a heart murmur? Oh, _great_. Now Hojo would never let him out of the fucking lab.

Minara-tan came back with two huge confections in her hands, and set them down on the table in front of the two men.

"Hey …" Cloud said. "Where's his water?" He slid a glance at Sephiroth, who raised his eyebrows and looked at Minara-tan.

"What?!" She was getting ready to launch into it, but her mother stopped her, sending her back to the counter with a smack on the rump. After the girl left, she and Cloud shared a laugh.

"She's so funny. Just too easy, Nana-chan," Cloud said, grinning.

"I know. But she'll be okay. She's learning." Nana-chan turned back to Sephiroth. "Okay, Friend-san, you be careful. You fly on airplane, you come from cold country to hot Costa, that not good. Cloud-kun, you take care of Friend-san. You hear me?" She shook her finger in Cloud's face.

"Yes, Nana-chan," he said meekly.

Only Sephiroth noticed the glass of water that appeared right next to his coffee. He gave Minara-tan a little smile when she got back to the counter. All during the lecture by Nana-chan, wherein she chided him for the flight from cold country to hot, etc, he'd been thinking about all the times he'd flown for days, in all climates and weather patterns, jumped from a moving airship and had to fight for 10 hours straight, in both polar temps and desert. It wasn't the flight, or the heat. He raised the glass of water to his lips. Over the rim of the glass, his eyes slanted a glance across the table to Nimble. Or, rather – Cloud-kun.

Hmm.

XXX

"Jesus, man … I'm sorry I called her over here. I feel like I just made a big ass out of both of us." Cloud scratched the side of his neck, face rueful.

"It's all right. But just so you know, my skin is always this color. I'm not pale. I'm just–"

"Whitey!" Cloud supplied, laughing, his eyes merry.

_Thadump_. Again. _What is wrong with me? Maybe I shouldn't have skipped that doctor's appointment. _Sephiroth took another sip of water.

Cloud was working on his coffee. He set the tall cup down and said, "So, I guess you heard, but my real name is Cloud. Not the most manly name around, but heh … I didn't pick it." He shrugged easily, smiling. He had some whipped cream on his upper lip.

Sephiroth had to pull his eyes away as heat flooded his core. _I'm ill. There's something definitely wrong with me_. "My name is Seph," he said. "I didn't pick my name either." He picked up his coffee and took a healthy drink. Damn it was good! "This is really good," he said out loud, taking another drink.

"Yeah I know, right? I always get it when I come here," Cloud said.

"So do you come here often?" Sephiroth asked, then his eyebrows went up as he heard himself.

Cloud started laughing, he couldn't help it. Eventually, although quieter, Sephiroth joined in, his deep chuckle a counterpoint to Cloud's giggles. "I, uh … I didn't mean it that way," Sephiroth said, rapping his knuckles on the table.

_Now is not the time to tell this person that you're gay_, Cloud thought. _It might never be time, but it certainly isn't now. _"Naw, that's okay … I know what you meant. Yeah, I do come here a lot. It's my favorite coffee shop in Costa. Let me know when you're ready for another."

"Bullshit. The next one is my turn," Sephiroth said smoothly.

"Nope. This is my town."

"Oh, my money isn't good enough here?"

"How'd you know?"

"You had a tone."

"I'll just tell Nana-chan that your money is ill-gotten gains and she'll be too freaked out to have it in her shop."

"She doesn't appear to be the type to be superstitious. I'm betting she'll take my money right off, especially when she finds out I tip 40%."

"What?!"

Sephiroth smiled and sipped his coffee. And just like that, the ice was broken. Even with the awkwardness that the 'fainting spell' caused. Once Sephiroth spotted some raws on Cloud's laptop for the newest upcoming issue of Tsundere Veterinarian, neither one could shut up. Sephiroth bought several rounds of coffee. Nana-chan brought over some meat buns later on, and Cloud was amazed that Sephiroth ate 8 of them.

"They're little," Seph said.

"They're huge!" Cloud countered.

"That's compared to _you_."

Cloud gasped. "Was that a _size_ joke?!"

"But Cloud-kun, you _are_ little!" Nana-chan jumped in. The argument was _on_.

Sephiroth smiled. Really smiled. And Cloud stared at his face. The smile transformed it. The horrible glasses notwithstanding, the fact that he couldn't see what color his hair was but it had to be white, since that's what his eyebrows were and, duh – his nick was "Whitey". But, he noticed, he had a very classical bone structure. And his lips were … Cloud gave himself a mental shake. _That's enough of that_, he told himself. _This is a friend. Keep it that way!_

Sure.

Sephiroth got up to use the men's room, Cloud's eyes automatically were drawn to his ass – and his mouth went dry.

_You keep your hands to yourself_, he sternly told himself.

The time flew by. When Sephiroth noticed that it was getting close to 5:00, they stood up and gathered their things, then looked at each other excitedly. "Sensei," Cloud said, grinning.

"Sensei," Sephiroth agreed. Time to go!

XXX

**End Chapter 3**

**I had so much fun with this one! Hope you all liked it, too! XD**

**Ahvienda**


	4. Chapter 4 -- Another Fateful Meeting

**Chapter 4 – Another Fateful Meeting**

**[A/N to Ryan, who reviewed via "guest" status: **you might want to check out the final chapter of Running Away. I changed that "uber-sad canonical" ending. ;)** ]**

**Warnings: Language, adult situations**

**Same disclaimer as the previous chapters. *sigh***

The line was LONG. It seemed to stretch out from here to eternity … and that was just the line to get in through the doors of the convention center! No telling how long the line would be, later, when Sensei was giving his talk and then answering questions. But oh well. _Tsundere Veterinarian _was immensely popular, that was a fact. It was one of the best-selling mangas, ever! And it deserved it – the humor, the wit, the beautiful drawings, the way Sensei would dissolve his artwork into cartoonish hilarity whenever he wanted to make a particularly outlandish point – it had something for everybody. Even romance!

Cosplayers abounded. Cloud saw so many people dressed up as the Vet, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Some were … well, let's say that they were not _quite_ up to the role. Women liked _Tsundere Veterinarian_, too, and there were plenty female Vets. Others, male and female, were short and plump. But there were some who looked like they'd just stepped out of the pages of the manga. Amazing! Cloud stared avidly at one who was Vet-san personified. "Wow … look at him, Whitey – I mean, Seph. He looks great!"

Sephiroth looked. The guy _did_ look amazing. "He does. Look, he has a kitten in his pocket," he added after spying the little ears peeking out of the lab coat pocket.

Cloud laughed, delighted. "I'm so glad I'm here!" he crowed, excitement making his voice rise a register or two.

Sephiroth looked down at him, grinning. "You and me both," he said quietly.

The line slowly snaked its way toward the doors of the convention center. People were clustered along the line, with hand-carts or small stands, hawking everything from drinks to t-shirts, ramen to mangas, trying to take advantage of getting to the attendees before they got inside. Cloud bought oolong teas for himself and Seph. They sipped them while they shuffled along the sidewalk, finally coming into view of the doors into the huge hotel's convention center. "We're almost there," he said, looking up at Seph, grinning.

Sephiroth swallowed oolong tea. "Yep," he said after, giving Cloud a tight-lipped smile. His earlier physical discomfort had abated somewhat. He did feel that his body was on hyper-alert, rather like the way he felt when going into battle … but that was probably because of the crowds.

Cloud, while totally undone by his excitement and anticipation, was still able to notice his companion's easy way of moving and interacting with the crowds of people around them. When spoken to by anyone, he replied with gracious confidence – much belied by his geeky appearance. His posture was tall and straight – something Cloud would not have expected – and he was, well … graceful. That was the only word Cloud could come up with. Like his muscles and bones worked together with maximum efficiency. Like he was _oiled_. Whether he could admit it or not, it was attractive. Very. As in, _ohhh yeah_.

The only concession Sephiroth had made to fandom was on his beanie … the letters "T.V." were prominently displayed on the front, in Sensei's preferred drawing font. Next to them was a stylized frowny-face.

"Hey, guys … how about a commemorative picture?" a young girl asked as she stepped up to the pair. She was short, pixie-ish almost, with short-cut black hair and dark brown eyes. She was even shorter than Cloud.

Both men held up their phones.

The girl pouted. "Aw, c'mon, guys … this will be a nice, commemorative shot, hard-copy, in a decorative frame even! Please?" Her lower lip was out, her eyes wide and pleading.

"You have an interesting sales pitch," Sephiroth noted. "Does whining and begging get you your way, usually?"

Both the girl and Cloud gaped at him.

"What?" Sephiroth asked. Glug-glug of oolong tea.

Cloud gave him a bit of a disbelieving glance and then said, "Sure," moving in closer to Sephiroth. "We'd love a commemorative photo hard copy in a nice frame. Times two. Please." He slung his arm around Sephiroth's neck, making the older man look down at him in surprise.

"Excellent!" the girl squeaked. "Pose … ready?" She held up her camera – really a nice Nikon with a good lens – and prepared to shoot, working the focus.

Cloud pulled Sephiroth's head down closer to his and gave his most winning smile. And what a gorgeous little smile it was. His blue eyes sparkled, he glittered with good health and vitality.

Sephiroth was captured in the photo looking down at Cloud. His mouth was slightly open, his green eyes cast to the side to look down at his companion.

Then Cloud belched, loud and long … there was a pause, and then they totally cracked up. The girl took another picture – this one was sublime. Both men were in process of laughing, their heads close together … Cloud's blue eyes were squelched shut but it didn't matter. Their happiness shone through. _And they think _I'm _the kid_, the girl thought, smiling.

Oh, well. If they were regressing a little bit, so what? Sephiroth hadn't really had a proper childhood, so he should be allowed to act silly once in a while! And Cloud had had hardships enough of his own, with little to laugh about for years during the really bad times. So we'll cut the boys a break for turning back the clock and laughing about burps.

"I'll be right back with these!" the girl sang out. "I know you'll still be in line …." Her voice faded out as she raced off.

"Wait … ah, damn," Seph said.

"What?" Cloud asked, craning his neck to look over the people in front of him to see how long it would still take before they got inside.

"She didn't say how much," Seph said.

"Who cares?" Cloud answered, grinning up at Sephiroth. "I'll pay whatever she asks."

"You mean, _I'll_ pay whatever she asks."

"No, I will. My … treat. A gift for you … from your weekend at … Costa." Cloud was still grinning, but now he was jumping in place, still trying to see over people.

"Then I'll buy yours. Shut up. The deal is done," Seph said, watching Cloud jump and trying not to laugh. He finally had to put his fist to his mouth and press his lips together.

When the girl came back, they were pleasantly surprised. She really had taken some good pictures. "I developed both … you can see they both turned out _great_," she gushed. Trouble was, she was right.

"We'll take one of each," Sephiroth said. "I'll take the laughing one, and you take the other."

"I know!" Cloud said, excited. "We'll keep 'em, and when we meet up again, we'll bring 'em and switch! What do you think?!" He jumped again, startling the girl.

_What are you guys, girls?_ she thought. But then she blushed. _Oh._ Oh! Wow. "Tee-hee," she giggled.

"What?" Sephiroth asked, digging for his wallet.

"Nothing," she said, looking avidly from one to the other. _Kyah_, she thought. "That'll be 100 gil, apiece."

Sephiroth frowned. Cloud said, "Okay!" and dug out his wallet, too. Seph, certain he was being railroaded in some fashion, still paid, although he was frowning.

_The little one is so moe_, photographer girl thought … _but the tall one is … tsundere! Kyah! Good thing I have the negatives!_ "Here's the frames," she said, holding them up as they all moved forward a bit closer to the doors. "Which one do you want?"

They were both _Tsundere Veterinarian_ frames, of course, with painted and lacquered cut-outs of Vet-san and Kitty-chan, little duckies and chocobo chicks around the edges. "One of each," Cloud said, excitedly. "Wow, these are nice," he added, as she put the pictures into their frames. "Did you make these?"

"Sure did," photographer-girl said, handing them over and collecting the fees. "After all, I'm a fan, too!" She grinned and then turned around, heading back away from the doors to make more sales.

Both men watched her. Both noted, with interest, that she had Kitty-chan plastered on the back of her yoga pants. "Wow. She's cute," Cloud said vacantly.

Sephiroth glanced at him and frowned. Then he recovered nicely and said, "Not my type." He turned to look back towards the doors again. They were maybe 20 feet away now.

"Really?" Cloud asked, suddenly interested. "What is your type?" He looked at at the tall man beside him.

Seph pushed his glasses up. "I'm … not sure. I just know what I _don't_ like."

Cloud shrugged. "That works," he said.

XXX

Finally, they were _in_! The entry hall was abuzz with people, of all sizes and shapes and ages, everyone talking at once. Sephiroth and Cloud decided to start on the left-hand side and begin working their way through the stands. They agreed they would spend at least 10 minutes at each one, even if it didn't look interesting at first. But there was no maximum time limit. With the agreement in place, they grinned at each other and made their way through the crowd.

Food stands. Stuffed animals, with Kitty-chan being the most popular, of course. Chocobo hats. The manga itself, all the editions. Jewelry. iPod and phone cases. Phone charms. Clothes. Bookends. Dishes. Bed linens. Sunglasses. Kitty-chan ears, tails, paws, full cosplay outfits. Lab coats by the score. Shoes. Wall plaques. Doctor's bags. You name it, if they could either put Vet-san or Kitty-chan on it, it was there.

Food … all different kinds of food, but mostly the favorites from the manga. Ramen stands abounded in the second part of the convention hall … meat buns, onigiri, nabe, even some stands where they offered congee. They ate til they felt like they would burst, and still bought more to put in their bags.

Cloud was free with his money … all that he had brought today, anyway. He knew better than to blow his whole wad (so to speak) on the first day, so he was careful to only bring 1000 gil with him. But Sephiroth, remembering that Cloud was on a convenience store part-timer's salary, insisted on buying all the food and drinks, and even bought some things that Cloud had said he wanted but would have to wait – slipping these items into Cloud's bag as soon as his back was turned. He always smiled when he did this. What fun. He almost never got to buy for people (other than rounds of drinks), and he was discovering that it was a good feeling.

It seemed like the time they had until 8 p.m. _flew _past. But finally the hour approached. They'd bought tickets way early, as soon as they'd gotten through the doors, and they thought they had respectable seats. 10th row, just left of center. When the ballroom doors opened at 7:30, they walked in with the crowd and made their way … slowly … down to the tenth row. Then sidling past people to get to their seats. _Finally_ they found them and sank gratefully into the plush stadium-style seating. Niiice.

Sephiroth elbowed Cloud. "Sensei," he said, grinning up at the stage.

"Sensei!" Cloud shouted with enthusiasm. It was picked up all over the huge cavernous room, until the whole place rang with it. Cloud joined in, standing up and turning around to egg people on. Sephiroth, the more dignified of the pair, sat and stomped his feet in time with the "Sensei! Sensei!" beat.

It was 7:55 when a Wutaian man in a suit walked out onto the stage, grinning. People started applauding, and when he approached the podium, he shouted, "Is anybody here to see Kitano-sensei?!" and the place went _crazy_. The huge screen behind the man lit up with a big full-length picture of Vet-san, with Kitty-chan in his arms. The applause and cheers were deafening.

The man held up his arms and waved them around until everyone more or less quieted down. "I'm Eddie Chin, Sensei's editor …" More cheering, which he laughed at and tried to suppress. "I just wanted to say …" he began, shouting over the crowd, "… I just wanted to say thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet with you all today!" He bowed to all the corners of the room while applause and whistles and cheering filled the place to the rafters.

"And now … without further ado … Be-Bop Publishing is proud to present … M. Kitano-sensei!"

The lights went out – ALL of them. A lone spotlight illuminated the stage – as the crowd went wild – over near the right-hand side. The curtain switched back and then – there he was. Everyone stood up, cheering and applauding.

He was a short man, stylishly dressed, with black hair in a very attractive idol-style. Long in the front and back, spikey on the top. He wore a black suit, white shirt, and a black tie. Only the shirt was untucked and the tie hung loosely around his neck. He looked like a schoolkid, to be honest … but everyone knew Sensei was almost 30 years old. He just looked young. And cool. He waved as he approached the podium.

And Sephiroth's internal facial recognition program went into high gear. He'd seen this face before. No-one had seen a picture of Sensei in the mangas, he'd only used his cartoon persona at the comments section. But somewhere … Sephiroth had seen this face. Hair. Chin. Jaw line. Nose. Eyes. Ear height. Neck length. Click click click.

"Thank you! Thank you so very much," Sensei said. He bowed again, smiling. The spotlight – and the audience – loved him. He looked great. Girls were squealing all over the place. Hands hurt from clapping so hard and so long. Here he was: the author of the greatest manga ever! The pic behind Sensei changed to the cover of the very first ever edition of _Tsundere Veterinarian_. More cheering and whistling.

Sensei spoke for two hours, all about his ideas, where the original idea for the manga had come from, his favorite issues, all his staff (including, as he said, his "long-suffering editor, Eddie Chin"), and where he thought it might go in the future. The entire audience hung on every word. He was funny, he was articulate, and he was gifted. It also didn't hurt that he was attractive. He was king of the night.

Finally it was time for the question and answer period. Everybody seemed to have a question. Cloud actually got to ask two – standing up to smile as he asked, "Where do you live?" and "How old is Vet-san?" The answer to the first was "The Eastern Continent," to which Cloud looked down at Seph jealously, and the second – he still declined to answer specifically. "Somewhere between 19 and 39" was the answer, making the hall ring with laughter – everyone knew of Vet-san's unreasonable aversion to the number 9! How funny Sensei was!

Sephiroth stood up when there was a lull. "There's someone there, Sensei," Eddie Chin said, pointing out the tall man in the tenth row. Sensei looked and seemed to startle. "Sensei," Seph said, pushing up his glasses. "Are you ambidextrous?" The crowd quieted. Sensei stared at Sephiroth, then licked his lips and smiled.

"Yes," he answered. Buzzing of conversation in the hall as this information was processed. "Excuse me, sir … how did you guess?"

Sephiroth, well used to being the center of attention, had _his_ totally focused on the man on the stage. Click click click. Ah, yes. "In Edition 17, the drawings have a different slant to them. The lettering."

"Very good," Sensei said, smiling and – Cloud was almost sure of it! – blushing slightly.

Seph sat down. Sensei was still staring at him. But Sephiroth had his answer. Oh, not to the question he'd just asked, any idiot could tell that a left-handed artist had done the drawings in Edition 17. His other _private_ question. Recognition. Sensei had been the otaku in Oh Lay that morning … with lank unattractive hair, glasses, and wearing clothes that made him look chubby … but that had definitely been him. So Sephiroth wasn't the only man in Costa Del Sol who was hiding his identity that day.

"Next question!" Eddie Chin said, smiling.

But Sensei kept looking at the man in the tenth row, now that he knew where he was. Cloud noticed, and was intrigued … but Sephiroth wasn't interested. He talked with Cloud about the answers Sensei gave, shared some food he'd stashed in his back pack, and was blithely oblivious to the attention he was receiving from the stage. Cloud forgot about it, too, eventually. The evening was a smashing success.

XXX

It was very late when Sephiroth and Cloud were walking down the mostly-deserted streets of Costa Del Sol. After the convention center closed for the night, they'd retired to the hotel's bar so they could talk about what they'd seen, compare the photos they'd shot, and look over all the memorabilia they'd purchased. Then when the bar had closed down, they'd gone to another bar and closed _it_ down!

Now, as they walked down the street, pleasantly inebriated, they chattered non-stop about the day. The moon was out, shining with brilliant white light that helped illuminate the darkness between the street lights. They stopped under one, bending their heads over a pic Cloud had shot while Sephiroth was looking at some T.V. products – these being gloves that looked like kitty-cat paws. His face was doubtful, frowning behind his glasses, as he held them up. Cloud laughed again, looking at it. "You … you look like they offended you," he said between chuckles.

"Well, look at 'em," Sephiroth stuck up for himself. "They're not even anatomically correct."

Cloud burst into gales of laughter. An anatomically correct kitty-paw glove. Hysterical!

It was at this moment that Sephiroth's cell phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket with a muttered swear word and looked at the screen. "Sorry," he said, "gotta take this." He moved a little ways away, walking casually, and flipped it open. "What," he said flatly.

Cloud raised his eyebrows at Seph's tone, but then shrugged and went back to looking at the pics on his phone, chuckling to himself. In order to give Seph privacy, he began slowly walking down the street towards his apartment, which was closer to the hotel than Seph's cabana.

"I see," he heard Seph say clearly. "I'm not in Midgar … what … expect me … it?" His tone was blunt, business-like. "You'll have to … Kunsel … vacation. Just do … normally do, and … on Monday." He paused, apparently listening. The pauses were stretching out as Cloud slowly widened the distance between them.

"Well well well … if it isn't our little blond _whore_," a slightly-familiar voice said from Cloud's left … and a figure separated itself from the darkness of an alley between two shops. Cloud stopped, frowning, peering into the gloom. "Going home alone, slut?"

Back down the street, Sephiroth's head snapped to the right as his sensitive hearing picked up someone speaking … to Cloud?

"M-Matthew? What are you–" Cloud looked around, in a near-panic.

"Shut up, bitch! Give me my money back!" Matthew rushed forward from the alley and grabbed Cloud by the t-shirt. "Give it back, you little fucker!"

_Yes_. This person was talking to Cloud. "Gotta go, Kunsel." Snap went the phone.

Cloud _was_ panicked, beside himself at the situation, and at the fact that Seph was just down the street a ways. Fuck! "Matthew, let go!" he hissed in a sibilant whisper. "Let go!" He tried to peel the other man's hands off his shirt, but he couldn't, his fingers were twisted into the fabric. For a second the idea that Matthew might tear his beloved T.S. t-shirt … but the thought was quickly dashed from his mind when ….

Matthew slapped him and then shook him, hard. "No! Give me my money back, you little fucking nasty piece of–"

Cloud saw a black and white blur to his left. He blinked as Matthew was yanked away from him, then everything went quiet. "You okay?" he heard, and blinked again, looking down. Matthew was down on the sidewalk, face-down. Seph had one foot on Matthew's neck. He had one of Matthew's arms pulled straight up and out behind his back, holding him in place by the middle finger. "I said, are you okay?" Seph's voice, only hard and unyielding. He wasn't even out of breath!

"Y-yeah," Cloud answered, eyes wide.

"Mmph," Matthew tried to speak, started to struggle.

"Shut up!" Seph commanded. He reached down and yanked Matthew to his feet, one-handed, and shook him like he'd shaken Cloud, only harder. "What's your problem, asshole?"

"N-no, Seph … it's okay," Cloud started to say, frightened half to death at being outed by Matthew … and more than a bit worried about what Seph was going to do to him.

"It's NOT okay," Seph said, turning his attention back to Matthew.

"Th-that little f-fucking blond bit–" Matthew began, but apparently Seph had had enough. He slapped the man, hard, just like he'd done to Cloud … and then he did something to Matthew's neck, fast, Cloud didn't even see it, just the black blur of Seph's arm moving … Matthew slumped in Seph's arms.

"Holy shit!" Cloud squeaked. But then Matthew began to snore.

Seph picked Matthew up – picked him up! Like he weighed nothing! – and walked him over to the nearest store-front. "Bella's Beach Bums", it was called. Seph deposited Matthew's sleeping body against the wall, legs straight out. He snored on unaware. "He'll be fine," Seph said, staring down at him.

The street light cast a glare on Seph's glasses, so that Cloud couldn't see his eyes. But it was obvious he was staring down at Matthew. His jaw was set, the muscles clenching and unclenching.

For his part? – Sephiroth wanted to kill this mother-fucker. He'd been layering verbal abuse on Cloud, who was Sephiroth's _friend_, and then laid his hands on him. Seph had seen red. He was down the intervening sidewalk space and on the big piece of shit before you could say "lickety-split". He stared down at the offensive jerk, then gave him a little kick and turned away. That was when he caught sight of Cloud's face. Dimly, yes, but mako-enhancements come in handy sometimes. "You okay?" he asked, stopping. "How's your face?" There was a livid red mark there, where that piece of shit had slapped him.

But Cloud was wide-eyed, open-mouthed. "You … wow. Just … man, I … that was amazing!"

Sephiroth pursed his lips in thought, then said, "I've had some lessons." All too true.

"Lessons! Man, I didn't even see you _move! _That was incredible! You were like–" Cloud dashed down the sidewalk a few feet, "– and then you were like–" he stopped and whipped his hands around, "– and _then_ you were like–" and Cloud did a sort-of 'jab' with his right arm.

Sephiroth snickered. What a funny guy.

Cloud stopped, then realized what he'd been doing and laughed a bit, too. "Okay, okay. So I haven't had any lessons. But that was _out there_!" His tone and his face were saying 'thanks', but his manliness couldn't say it out loud.

"You know that asshole?" Seph asked, turning to start walking down the street again.

"I only met him once, at work," Cloud said. All too true.

"What a prick."

"You're right."

"He said something about money …" Seph said, not wanting to pry, just trying to figure out if he needed to call the police when he got back to the cabana.

"Guess he must think we over-charged him." All too true.

"He can go to another convenience store next time," Sephiroth said through clenched teeth.

Cloud did not correct the misconception. There were things that Seph didn't need to know … either not yet, or ever. Cloud kinda thought this might fall under the 'ever' category. They kept walking down the street, made a couple turns, until they were in front of Cloud's apartment building. "This is me," he said.

"Okay," Seph replied, looking up at the façade of the three-story building. It was a little run-down, but not too bad.

"So," Cloud said, shifting his backpack from one arm to the other. "We're meeting up tomorrow … at Oh Lay again, yeah?"

"Yep."

"Let's see … festivities start at 9 with the book-signing, right? But that lasts until noon if you don't wanna show up that early." Cloud looked up at his new friend, a little smile on his face.

"How about we let the biggest part of the crowd get through and show up at about 10:30 … sound okay?" Sephiroth looked down at him. The … the moonlight was shining on his blond hair. It was very distracting.

"So then you wanna meet at Oh Lay at about 8 or 9?"

"Sure. 8:30 sounds good."

"8:30! Sounds great! They have these cinnamon rolls that are incredible! Even if you don't like sweet stuff, you'll like these, 'cause they're more cinnamony than sweet, and they go great with the cinnamon espresso lattes I usually get." Cloud was animated as he talked about the rolls, because hey – they really were great! "They have red bean onigiri, too, if you'd prefer something like that. They're also really good."

"We'll just have to get both." Sephiroth smiled at Cloud.

"Yeah," Cloud said, looking up at him. "Yeah … both. That's a good idea." He smiled too.

For a minute there, they just stood, staring at each other's smile, until both of them realized at once what idiots they were being.

"Ooo-kay, I'm more than a little drunk … time for Nimble to get himself into bed," Cloud said.

"Whitey's gonna do the same," Seph answered, looking away and pushing his glasses up.

"You know where you're going from here?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth smiled. He had a virtual GPS system in his head. "Yeah."

XXX

Only he didn't get to go straight to bed, Zack was "entertaining" a few female guests of the hotel in their cabana. Sephiroth walked in, visually scanned the living room area and made a snap judgment about what was going on, then turned and immediately walked down the little hall to the bedrooms.

"Hey! Hey, Seph, wait!" Zack said as he opened his door and stepped across the threshold. He stopped and turned around to look at his friend.

"What is it, Zack?"

"Well … can I come in?"

Sephiroth opened the door wider and gestured with his arm – "Come on in," he said, less-than-graciously. After Zack came in, Seph followed and shut the door behind him, blocking out the whispering and giggling that was going on in the living room. He walked to his bed and began unloading his backpack.

Zack eyed all the goods coming out of the bag and raised his eyebrows. "Wow," he said. "Got a lot of good stuff today, huh?"

"Yeah," Sephiroth admitted, looking down at everything he bought. A new backpack, some t-shirts, some socks, three new beanies, some artwork (suitable for framing), the Tsundere Veterinarian game, two bags of food and munchies, more bottles of oolong tea … and then, before he could hide it, the framed picture of Cloud and himself, out in the sunshine, laughing like mad.

Zack snatched it up. "Whoa," he said, smiling and looking up at Seph. "Looks like you had a good time … this your friend?"

Seph took it out of his hands and put it back on the bed. "No, it's a serial killer I collared in line. Of course that's my friend. Cloud."

"Cloud. Cloud? Oh, that's his name?" Zack was looking at it, interestedly. Sephiroth was laughing … laughing out loud, holding his stomach. When was the last time Zack had seen Seph laugh like that? Long time ago. Too long. He was still smiling when he looked up. "Where you drunk?"

"No!" Seph said. "Well, I am _now _… but that was when we were waiting to get inside. So no, I wasn't drunk."

"Wow," Zack said. Interesting. "So Cloud. Cloud who?"

"I don't know."

"Huh?"

"We only just met in person today. I knew him from the chatroom, as Nimble. But his real name is Cloud." If Seph hadn't had his tongue loosened by alcohol, he wouldn't be as forthcoming as he was now.

And Zack would take advantage of that fact. "Ohh, you guys met online. Cool, cool. Looks like a nice guy," Zack said, still looking at the picture. They both looked … happy. It was nice to see Seph look happy. "He know who you really are?"

"No. And I'm going to keep it that way. So if you run into us, keep your big mouth shut." Sephiroth eyed Zack seriously.

"Hey, man … I can be discrete …." He sounded wounded.

"Uh-huh."

"I will, don't worry. But hey, look, the girls … wanna come out and have a drink with us?"

"Nope. I've had enough to drink, and I have to get up early in the morning." Sephiroth was taking all the stuff off the bed and putting it on the nightstand and the dresser top. "I'm meeting Cloud at a coffee shop at 8:30 … so you'll just have to entertain the girls yourself. Think you can manage that, _and_ keep it quiet enough so I can sleep?" He focused a stern gaze on his friend. Or tried to. Whew. Time for sleep.

"Sure, man, no problem. Okay, well … glad you had a good time tonight," Zack said, starting to walk away.

Sephiroth took off his beanie and let his hair fall down around his shoulders, scratching his scalp vigorously. "Thanks."

"And it's cool about tomorrow … I'm gonna be sleeping in," Zack added, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"You … are the whore-boy around here, Zack-o," Sephiroth said, smiling faintly.

"Yeah … can't help it! The women love me!" He held up his hands like it was out of his control.

"Uh-huh."

"Don't sound sarcastic!"

"I can't help it," Seph said, holding up his hands like it was out of his control.

Pause. "You're mocking me."

"Uh-huh."

"G'night, Seph."

""Night, Zachary." The door opened and closed. Sephiroth stripped and pulled the covers down on his bed … then shot a glance at the door. He walked over to it and locked it, then went back to the bed, smiling. He got in bed, pulled up the covers, and laid there for a while, looking at all the stuff he'd bought today. His gaze fell on the picture of himself and Cloud, and he snorted laughter for a few seconds. What a day. The book-signing was tomorrow. What a great day. He fell asleep with a faint half-smile on his lips.

XXX

In the morning, Cloud and Sephiroth met up again at Oh Lay, and soon had their table piled with cinnamon rolls and red bean paste onigiri. Standing nearby were their grande cinnamon espresso lattes. It was a great start to a _gorgeous_ morning.

Cloud had been a bit leery about his wardrobe choices today, but once he hit the streets he discovered his anxiety was completely unfounded. Let's explain: today Cloud was all in white, except for a few special accessories. He had on a white t-shirt and white jeans, with white Vans on his feet. Pretty standard stuff so far, right? But on his head he was wearing some Kitty-chan ears. And around his neck he was wearing Kitty-chan's collar – complete with bell! He had already decided long ago that he wasn't going to go the full route with his cosplay, but wearing some little accessories couldn't be that bad, right?

As he discovered when he hit the streets, he was right. Seemed like every third person had on Kitty-chan ears! His bell rang cheerily as he bopped down the street, his _Tsundere Veterinarian_ backpack once again hanging off his shoulder.

XXX

Sephiroth had arrived first at Oh Lay that day, and Nana-chan had already seated him at the little table in the corner. She was questioning him about how he felt and how he'd held up the previous day. He answered truthfully and thanked her again for her care. She was pleased. She brought him his first cinnamon espresso latte and told him it was on the house. He was very grateful and took a sip before praising it to the skies.

Today Seph had had to tone it down a little. The hoodie had been too hot yesterday, he felt like he'd sweated like a pig and didn't want that repeating itself today. So he'd worn a long-sleeved white t-shirt and faded blue jeans over (fuck you Zack) his loafers. No socks. The t-shirt had a pic of the _Tsundere Veterinarian_'s office front, with about 30 cats all sitting and laying around outside. "The Doctor is IN" the sign said. The sleeves were pushed up to just below the elbows to expose muscular forearms.

He had one of his new beanies on his head … this one was pale blue and made his green eyes pop out big time. But with the glasses in place, his eyes weren't all that easy to see anyhow. (The glasses really _were_ hideous.) On the beanie, a stylized version of Kitty-chan glared out at whoever might be looking. There were no words. A tsundere Kitty-chan was very cute. That's all there was to it.

He'd been walking past Zack to leave – and why was he up so early anyway?! – and had suddenly been hit with a cloud of vapor. "What the fuck is that?" Sephiroth snarled, backing up fast.

"Cologne, you idiot," Zack said. "With male peromones in it. For gods' sakes, this is the perfect place for you to find a woman who shares your likes! Have you even been looking?!"

Avoiding the question, Seph plucked at his t-shirt and smelled it. "I suppose that smells okay."

"Okay?! That stuff costs 400 gil!"

"You were robbed."

"It was a gift."

"Then _she_ was robbed."

"My _mom _does not get robbed!"

"She did this time. Bye. Go back to bed, you look like shit."

SLAM. Sephiroth chuckled and let himself out, shutting and locking the door behind him.

XXX

So when Cloud showed up at Oh Lay, he immediately looked at the little table in the corner and saw a tall handsome man sitting there. Gone was the all-encompassing hoodie. Now he could see muscles. Could he ever! Whoa. He slid between the tables of chatting guests and said, "Morning, Whitey!" as he got close.

Sephiroth looked up at Cloud and had his first _thadump_ of the day. The Kitty-chan ears … looked so cute poking up out of those blond spikes! And the collar … whoa. "Hey, Nimble," he answered, clearing his throat. "Nice day," he added, then winced a little bit at the lameness.

"Oh hell yeah," Cloud responded, grinning. Today, they would get to actually _meet_ Sensei! What a fucking fantabulous morning this would be! Excitedly, he began talking about all the things they'd learned about M. Kitano-sensei last night. Laughing and talking as they demolished plates of onigiri and cinnamon rolls, it was no time at all before it was time to make their way down to the Seaside Grand again.

After another interminable wait in another long line, they finally got inside. They'd seen Photographer-chan outside … she'd waved and then cheerfully snapped their pictures again. (_Kyah!_) But she didn't approach them for money, just zipped off again to approach more customers. Cloud and Sephiroth shrugged at each other, then stepped through the doors into the lobby.

Looking around, they saw that the line to get in to see Sensei wasn't really that long. Well, not compared to the line they'd waited in yesterday. Perhaps people were going to wait until the later book-signing … or they'd had too late a night last night and were still in bed. One way or the other, it wasn't too long before they were next up.

Sensei was being genial, friendly, and humorous. Everyone turned away from the table with a smile on their faces. Cloud and Sephiroth got their editions of Sensei's book out of their backpacks and held them ready. But when Sensei looked up and saw them, his gaze slid over onto Sephiroth and stayed. His cheeks flushed and he caught his lower lip between his teeth.

Alarm bells began to go off in Cloud Strife's head. Sensei … Sensei liked Seph! Wait. Wait. Maybe that wasn't it at all. Settle down, alarm bells. Maybe the guy just ate something that is giving him a hot flash. (This illogic didn't really get through.) Maybe he was feeling kinda sick today. Cloud forced himself to reserve judgment.

"Next up … hello, guys, come on up," Eddie Chin said, smiling.

"Sure!" Cloud said, elbowing Seph and walking forward with him.

Sensei looked at Cloud, then at Seph, then at Cloud again. A small frown settled between his eyebrows and then cleared. "Hi," he said, rather shyly, looking down. Then he looked up at Sephiroth. "You're the man from last night," he said with a little smile.

"Yes, Sensei," Seph said, a gorgeous grin spreading over his face. Cloud was taken aback, again, by the way his face lit up when he smiled.

So was Sensei. He stared. "H-here," he said, "l-let me sign your books," he stammered, reaching out for them. His fingertips brushed Seph's. Sephiroth moved forward a bit, leaning over the table. Sensei took a deep breath, looking up into Seph's eyes. "Name?" he said, slightly breathless.

"Seph."

"Just Seph?" Sensei asked, still not looking down at the books.

Cloud stood there, looking from one to the other. Seph seemed oblivious, but Cloud knew the signs of attractions, oh boy did he ever. And Sensei had it _bad_. A funny feeling twisted in his guts. Ugh. Too many cinnamon rolls?

"Just Seph is fine, Sensei … thanks," Sephiroth said, looking down at the man. He had dark brown eyes fringed in long black lashes. Was that mascara? Seph stared … unaware that his stare was being mis-read.

Sensei tore his gaze away, and began writing inside the front jacket cover of Seph's newest edition of _Tsundere Veterinarian_. It took some time. He licked his lips again.

As he wrote, Seph leaned forward a bit to say, quietly, "Did you enjoy your coffee yesterday morning, Sensei?" He looked over at Cloud and winked, then turned back to see Sensei staring at him.

"You … you knew that was me?"

"Not until last night. It was a good disguise." He grinned. Sensei smiled back, then looked down, hiding his damnable blush, and finished the inscription.

Cloud slid his book over. "Name's Cloud, Sensei," he said, grinning. "It's so great to meet you at last!"

Sensei was very personable, he seemed to shake himself and responded to Cloud, chatting with him, signing his book and even adding a little Kitty-chan face in the corner! Cloud stared at it, eyes wide, smiling.

In the meantime, Sensei was looking at Sephiroth again, who was looking down at his own book cover, with a little frown on his face. "Something wrong, Seph-san?" Sensei asked, looking up at the tall man with big eyes.

"No … no, nothing's wrong, Sensei," Sephiroth answered. What were those numbers, some sort of code? He smiled. "Pleasure to meet you. You know, I live on the Eastern Continent too," he added, just reaching for a conversational gambit.

"You … you do? Where?" Sensei asked, avidly looking up into this gorgeous Mr. Glasses-san's face.

"Midgar."

"I live in Junon," Sensei said, sounding slightly disappointed. "But … that is not so very far away."

"No, not at all," Sephiroth said, "especially if you go by airship."

"That's true! Are you flying back soon?" Sensei had forgotten about everything else … including Eddie-san clearing his throat off to his left.

"I have to head back on Monday," Seph said, looking down at him, and then glancing over at Cloud. He shrugged. Sucks, the shrug said.

Cloud nodded. But he, too, was busy watching this interplay. And he … wasn't very happy, although he wasn't quite sure why.

"I, too, must head back on Monday," Sensei said, smiling again. "Perhaps we will see each other." He seemed happy at the thought.

"Never know," answered Mr. Oblivious. "Thanks for signing my book. Hey, Cloud, you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Cloud said, "yeah, let's go. Bye, Sensei … thank you!"

"Thanks, Kitano-sensei," Seph said.

"You're welcome. Any time," Sensei answered.

As they walked away, Cloud glanced back, almost _certain_ what he would see. And he was right. Sensei was watching his friend Seph walk away, his eyes glued to that mouth-watering ass.

XXX

"What did you mean when you asked him if he enjoyed his coffee?" Cloud asked. They were sitting at one of the tables in the ballroom, having some udon for lunch, with salad and fried meat.

"He was there," Seph said, picking through the meat with his chopsticks and finding a nice big piece to stuff in his mouth. His jaw muscles worked as he chewed it. Rolling his eyes to show how good it was, he chased it with a drink of Kohaku Yebisu beer.

"What? Where? I didn't see him," Cloud yelped, stabbing his salad.

"He was in a disguise of sorts," Sephiroth said. "I didn't know it was him until at the hotel last night." He had another swig of beer. It really was very good.

"Wow," Cloud said, eyes wide. "Man, good job! You knocked him off his stride asking about that," he added, hooting with laughter.

"Let me see what he wrote in your book," Seph said, and Cloud handed it over. "He drew Kitty-chan for you! Son of a _bitch_! He didn't do anything like that in mine!" He pushed it back across the table, disgusted.

"Can I see yours?" Cloud asked, through a mouthful of salad.

Seph, his mouth also full, just made 'sure, sure' motions with his chopsticks, nodding his head at his copy of the book. Cloud picked it up and opened the front cover. His eyebrows went up when he saw how much was written there.

"To the Beautiful Seph-san:

With best wishes for a full tsundere life!

Sincerely,

Mitsuo Kitano

47-1183-88772

1131-44729"

Cloud's mouth gaped open. He blinked. Looked. Blinked again. "He … he …."

"Hmm?" Seph asked, eyebrows up.

"He … he wrote his first name in here!" Cloud said, his voice a sibilant whisper.

"Huh? No way. Doesn't it just say, M.?" Seph was staring.

"No. No, man. His first name is Mitsuo! Can you believe it?!" Cloud was almost hysterical.

"I … shit."

"Didn't you even look at it?"

"Well, not that closely," Seph admitted. "I was just curious about those numbers. That's what caught my eye." He shrugged. "Well shit," he said again.

"And dude … he called you 'beautiful'," Cloud said, now _his_ eyebrows were up.

"What?!"

"Shhh!"

"Give me that! You're pulling my leg!" Seph grouched, frowning. "It's not funny. _Beautiful_. Pfft. My ass …." His voice trailed off as he read the inscription. He shut the book and sat there. Put his chopsticks down. He was frowning still. "What are those numbers?" he asked Cloud.

"The first one is a local Costa Del Sol phone number. Wouldn't take long to look up," he offered helpfully.

Seph was frozen. He was trying hard to process this but not being very successful.

"The second one, I don't know. Is it a cell phone number? Maybe from Junon, eh?" Cloud was trying not to laugh. Or trying not to cry. He didn't know what he was trying to do or not do.

Seph sat there, thinking. He opened the book flap again and looked at the second number. "It could be a cell number, hell, I don't now. I don't work in numbers, all my shit's programmed in, most of it before I even got the phone. I've just switched SIM cards for years." He shut his mouth. He was rambling.

"Well … looks like somebody's taken a liking to you," Cloud said, smiling, picking up his beer. He took a sip and watched Seph.

Who was still frowning.

"Mitsuo means 'shining man'," Cloud offered, again helpfully.

"That's not very helpful," Sephiroth grumbled.

Cloud took another bite of meat, watching his companion, noting with amusement that the problem seemed to be outside his frame of reference. Seph opened the book cover and read the inscription again. He closed it. He frowned and took another drink of beer. Cloud did, too.

"He, uh … " Seph began, then dissolved into silence again. It stretched out.

"Seph," Cloud said when it became obvious that Seph wasn't going to go on.

"Yeah?"

"He's _gay_. And he likes you." Cloud watched Seph closely as this information sank in.

"Well," he said, focusing on the part that was simple. "I, uh, I like him too, I guess. Just fine. He seems like a nice enough guy. Although he was wearing mascara."

Cloud's eyebrows went up. He struggled not to laugh. This would not be a good time to laugh, no, not a good time at all. But it wasn't easy. "No … he _likes you_ likes you. He's gay."

Sephiroth put his beer down. He stared at Cloud. He opened his mouth, and then closed it again. No man had ever put the moves on General Sephiroth. No man would ever have dared. Sure, Sephiroth knew that there were gay people around, there were some in the ShinRa Army, he'd been told, but he'd never seen it in person and he didn't know how to process the information that one of them liked him. _Liked him_ liked him. And it was M. Kitano-sensei of all people! Practically his idol! He stood up suddenly.

"Seph?" Cloud asked. He was looking up at his new friend, the Kitty-chan ears sitting forgotten on his head. The little bell on his collar rang as he stood up too.

"No … you stay. I'm … just going to go for a walk. Check out the beach. I'll be back … or … we can meet up later …."

He seemed distracted and distant. Cloud didn't like it. "Okay. Listen, okay, no problem. I've got something to do this afternoon, anyhow. Wanna meet up for supper and then go buy some more stuff? New vendors are coming in later." He sat back down.

"Sure. That sounds good. Okay then I'll see you later …." He was gathering up his stuff. He grabbed the book and put it in his backpack.

"How about 4 o'clock?" Cloud asked. "Back here?"

"Sure. Four. I'll be here. See ya then." Seph gave Cloud a rather puzzled smile and then turned around and walked out.

Cloud sat there for a few seconds, watching Seph leave. He wondered if his new friend was homophobic. Oh, wouldn't that be just great. He ate some more of the udon while he pondered the problem. Maybe he wasn't homophobic, maybe he'd gone to find Sensei. Cloud frowned. He imagined Sensei pulling off Seph's glasses … and his jeans. His chopsticks paused mid-movement. Shit.

He sat there, staring at nothing for a while … then his face relaxed. Seph had said he was going for a walk, and Cloud had no reason to doubt that. He took another drink of beer. He cracked open his copy of _Tsundere Veterinarian_ and read some of it, smiling at the funny parts. So he was totally oblivious when someone pulled out Seph's recently-vacated chair and sat down.

"Where's your friend?" a voice asked. A familiar voice.

Cloud looked up. It was … a chubby black-haired guy with glasses … it was Sensei. Now that Seph had pointed out the ruse, it was easy to see. But the disguise was very good. Just another otaku, here to soak up the manga atmosphere.

"He went for a walk, Sensei," Cloud said.

"Shh. Please," the other man said. He had the grace to look sheepish.

"Then … he went for a walk … Mitsuo-chan," Cloud said, his gaze direct.

"Oh. He showed you."

"Yep."

"You … read all of it?" Sensei looked down at the table-top, biting his lower lip.

"He showed me. We're friends."

"Is that all you are?" Sensei blurted out, then clasped his hands in his lap.

_Uke to the core_, Cloud thought. _And he's wanting Seph to seme the hell out of him._ "We're friends," Cloud said firmly. "We just met yesterday … but we've known each other online for a long time."

"I see," Sensei said, smiling a little.

Cloud closed the book. Then he leaned forward, waiting.

"You … you're gay, too," Sensei said.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"Does Seph-san know?"

"Nope."

Sensei looked at him, head tilted to one side, thinking. "Are you going to tell him?"

"If it ever becomes necessary, yeah. Otherwise, probably not. I don't wanna ruin our friendship." And all this was absolutely true.

"He doesn't like gays?"

"I don't know. The subject has never come up. He's out now figuring it out," Cloud added, smiling.

"I see."

"Yeah."

"You … you don't want him?" Sensei asked, leaning forward. "How could you not want him? He's beautiful!" he hissed.

He probably was. Under the glasses, under his clothes, no hats or ugly loafers … he probably was. Cloud wished he could see … he wished … he–

"I want to have a chance with him," Sensei said. "But you are very cute. If you butt in, I don't know … I mean, I don't think he'd …." His voice trailed off.

"It's not up to me what anybody else does," Cloud said. The faces of all his tricks were passing in front of his eyes. _I'm dirty_, he thought. _I don't deserve anybody even remotely like Seph. Friends are all we're ever going to be. _"I wouldn't stand in anybody's way, ever. If you wanna make a play, go for it. I'm not going to try anything."

"Oh! Good!" Sensei said, smiling. His eyes were sparkling behind his glasses.

He really was a good-looking guy, Cloud thought. And he'd probably never turned tricks or done some of the dirty things Cloud had done. For a moment he was blisteringly jealous. But then it faded under the weight of realism. "Glad that makes you happy. Now … I've got somewhere to be," he said, standing up and slipping his copy of Sensei's book into his backpack.

"Wait."

"Yes?"

"Do you … do you have any advice for me?" Sensei was looking up at him hopefully.

Cloud wanted to take the rest of Seph's beer and dump it over Sensei's head. Advice?! Like he'd need it! If Seph was willing to take on a male lover, who ELSE would he want?! This was Sensei! His idol! Hell, he was _Cloud's_ idol! Still! Barely able to hold his dismay and anger in check, Cloud made sure to smile brightly at the other man.

"Just take it slow," he said. "I think this is all new to him. That's all I got, Sensei."

He left. Hurrying out of the hotel, he didn't look around for Seph, he just beat feet out of there. He had an appointment this afternoon. He wanted to make some extra money so he could have more to send his mother in the morning, without hurting the rest of the weekend's plans with Seph. This trick paid very very well … and all he had to do was dress up. Hell, he already had the ears on.

XXX

"Seph, what's goin' on, man? Last night you were on cloud 9 … now you look like you were punched in the gut. What happened?" Zack didn't miss the flinch when he said the word 'cloud'.

"I've just got some shit to think about. And I have to call Kunsel." Sephiroth added that last bit at the last second. Stroke of genius.

"Oh, shit, it's work? Well, fuck. Hurry up and call him. Then I want you to come with me for a while. You said you don't havta meet Cloud again 'til later, so let's go have a drink, okay?" Zack used all his persuasive powers. "We can talk over whatever's goin' on, okay? C'mon, say okay to your friend. It's not a name-only status, you know. I'm here for ya."

Sephiroth looked at Zack, then stood up. They were sitting on the "porch" of the cabana, looking at the people who were on the beach. Beers sat on the table between them, droplets of condensation sparkling in the reflected sunlight. "Okay. Let me call Kunsel, then we'll get out for a while."

Zack stayed on the porch while Seph went inside to make his call. A couple of pretty girls strolled by, tanned skin glistening with health. Zack smiled and raised his beer to them. They smiled back. _Hello, ladies_, he thought. _You going to be around later?_ But he let them walk on without speaking.

It would be a mistake to label Zack Fair a male slut. He wasn't. He was _searching._ He knew the right girl for him – and for Sephiroth! – was out there, he just had to find her. Them. He didn't go to bed with every girl he met, not with every girl he brought home, not even close. He was looking. He'd find her, he knew it. One of these days, she'd be there. Looking at him. He sighed.

Zack Fair was a closet romantic. It was a secret he guarded closely.

The door opened behind him. Seph said, "Okay, done. Let's go."

"Don't act so excited," Zack said, grinning at his friend. "C'mon," he said. "I know you're feelin' down. Let's go get a drink and relax, away from this sand, and we'll talk things over. Okay?"

"Okay."

They left the Kopa Kabana and hit the main street. "You wanna walk? Or get a cab."

"Let's get a cab," Sephiroth answered. "I don't have all kinds of time."

"All right." Zack looked around as they walked, the heat coming up off the sidewalk in pleasant waves. When a taxi came into view, he hailed it but it went past.

"Look at the lights on top, dumbass," Sephiroth said, shaking his head but smiling a tiny bit. "His said 'occupied'."

"Oh yeah," Zack said, scratching his head. He squinted one eye and grinned at his friend.

"There," Seph said. He raised his arm and whistled. The taxi screeched to a stop and Zack opened the door. Seph slid in while Zack rolled his eyes. The guy was just too used to having a driver! He slid in behind him and shut the door.

"Where to, fellas?" the driver asked, looking at them in the rearview mirror.

Zack turned to look at Sephiroth first. "It's a bar the girls told me about last night," he explained. He looked at the driver. "It's called Ray's."

XXX

**End Chapter 4**

**Oh, shit! This doesn't look good, does it! **

**Thanks for reading! More to come soon.**

**Ahvienda**


	5. Chapter 5 -- Teatime of the Soul

**Chapter 5 – Teatime of the Soul**

**Warnings: Yaoi sex, adult situations, naughty language**

**Disclaimer: You already know, don't you? **

Since the convention was in town, it was pretty much to be expected that the bars and clubs in Costa Del Sol would be jumping – not just all night long, but during all hours of the day, too. If the bar was a large popular one, like Ray's, then that was definitely true. Shrewd businessman Ray had had his doors open since the event began, knowing a good money-making opportunity when he saw one, and today was no exception. Keeping a karaoke bar open 24-hours required a lot of organization skills, and if Ray was anything, he was an organizing genius.

He'd taken over from his nightshift manager at 8 a.m. and was pleasantly surprised to find a decent breakfast crowd in the banquet area, taking advantage of the buffet he was offering. He'd put _Tsundere Veterinarian_ memorabilia all over the place … his staff was all dressed in cosplay outfits from the manga … and he was having little drawings every hour, giving away coupons for free drinks (for later on, when the alcohol started flowing again). Ray knew how to cater to a crowd. He, himself, was wearing a lab coat, with a stethoscope around his neck. But he drew the line at taking it as far as Cloud was. That kid was obsessed, that's all there was to it!

Now it was mid-afternoon, and Cloud had two customers. Right now he was in-between. The first had been a fan, of course, but one who wanted to spend some 'intimate' time with Kitty-chan. Shrugging fatalistically, Cloud had kept on his ears and collar, put in the anal plug with the tail attached, and had "mewed" and "nyah'd" and purred his furry little ass off. It amazed him, the fantasies people came up with. But if it meant gil in his pocket, he'd be the best damn cat anyone ever saw. The customer had showed up dressed as Vet-san, of course, and had proceeded to pet "Kitty-chan", feed him tidbits of tuna (just like in the manga), and then had insisted that Cloud give himself a bath. Like a cat. And then he gave the trick a bath … paying special attention to very specific places, of course. From then on things had gotten pretty heated, and Cloud's tail had gone by the wayside so the plug could be replaced by other, less metallic items.

But now Customer-san had departed, and Cloud was out working the crowd. He'd told Ray he would do it – for a nominal fee, of course! – and now here he was, stalking around, being grouchy, carrying a stuffed Kitty-chan around with him. Cloud's Vet-san cosplay was sublime, even if he said so himself. He was wearing the lab coat, of course, with stethoscope, and the indoor slippers that Vet-san always wore. But where others might draw the line, Cloud jumped over it with both feet. He was wearing a black wig, one of pretty good quality, just like Vet-san's hair. His eyebrows were blackened, as were his eyelashes. He had a faux soul-patch beard like the vet's and he kept his face in a perpetual frown. He couldn't turn his blue eyes gray, though, but that was the only difference … other than about 5 inches in height. But he couldn't do anything about that.

It worked out because his second customer of the afternoon was wanting to be with Vet-san. Perfect! Cloud had his picture taken so many times he had a permanent retina burn in both eyes. He hugged Kitty-chan and cooed over him, then grouched at anyone who came near. He recoiled when, having asked a boy how old he was, the child responded with "nine!" Cloud knew Vet-san inside and out, and could do an almost-perfect rendition of the fantasy man. But his mouth dropped open and his insides curdled when he entered the main lounge and spotted Seph sitting at the long wooden bar.

He was sitting on one of the padded bar stools, facing the bar, relaxed-looking, next to a tallish black-haired guy who was laughing uproariously at something that Seph had said, apparently. Seph was smiling at him, affection and humor obvious on his face. Cloud was frozen. With fear, yes, that he'd be outed to his new friend, but also with the spike of … something … that twisted his guts when the black-haired guy flung an arm around Seph's shoulders and gave him a bro-hug.

He was still standing there, staring, when Seph looked over at him. That green gaze slid over him interestedly, but then moved on – without a hint of recognition! _Well of course not, dumbass_, he thought to himself. _You don't look anything like Cloud!_ Relief flooded him until he noticed that the other guy was looking too, and beckoning him over. _Oh, shit_, Cloud thought. But instead of freaking out, he plastered Vet-san's frown on his face and shook his head, lifting his nose in the air as if to say, 'Mere humans? Hah! Not worth my time!' like Vet-san would.

Seph laughed, getting it, of course … and after a pause, his friend laughed too. Cloud hugged his Kitty-chan, still frowning thunderously, and turned on his heel to go back into the lobby. "Dude, he's great!" he heard Seph's friend say … and he really was going to go back into the lobby, he really _was_! Until he saw Kitano-sensei in his disguise, coming through the door.

Sensei, too, clutched a Kitty-chan in his arms. He had on some blue-tinted glasses and the hat that Vet-san wore in Issue 11, when he'd gone to a farm in Kansai to try to find some special herbs to heal a sick bunny. (It had been a very funny episode, despite the poor sick Usagi-chan. Vet-san had had a hard time understanding the Kansai dialect and accent, and got himself into lots of trouble because of it.) The hat had a floppy brim, the kind you'd wear if you were going to go pick vegetables or something. It hid a lot of Sensei's face, but he'd tilted his head back to look around, and Cloud spotted him right off.

It didn't take the other man long to spot Seph sitting at the bar. Cloud watched surreptitiously as Sensei bit his lip, looking at Seph with longing. God dammit.

There was a touch at his elbow. Ray. "Hey-hey, Vet-guy," the man said, chuckling. "Somebody to see ya, know what I mean, Mr. Veterinarian? He's in the room, waitin' for ya."

"Sure. Sure, Ray," Cloud said, not taking his eyes off Sensei. "I'll be right there. Tell him for me, wouldja?"

"No problem, Doc," Ray said with a smirk. He walked off shaking his head, smiling. That Cloud. What a crazy guy!

His time was running out. There wasn't going to be anything he could do about this situation, he had a commitment and had to go. Son of a _bitch_ he didn't want to leave Seph in the soft, dewy-eyed clutches of Kitano-sensei. But there was nothing he could do. Cloud forced himself to turn around and walk away. Gritting his teeth (and unbeknownst to him, taking his Vet-san cosplay to a whole new level of realism), he went to the door of his karaoke room and knocked loudly on the door. It opened. His frown was real. "What?" he said, trying his damnedest to get into character. "A _human_?! I was told there would be a sick hamster in here!" And he slammed the door behind him.

XXX

"So how come you don't dress up as this doctor-guy, this, uh—"

"Vet-san, Zack. How many times do I have to tell you? It's _Tsundere Veterinarian_, and the doctor's name, to the fans, is Vet-san. Okay?" Seph shook his head and took another sip of his bloody mary.

"Got it, got it," Zack said soothingly. "Answer the question, ya prick. You don't wanna cosplay like the rest of the otakus?" He snickered as he lifted his beer to his lips.

"I don't do that shit," he said, turning his head to face Zack. The beanie on his head held the _Tsundere Veterinarian_ logo, with Kitty-chan's little black face on the side, green eyes glaring. "You should know me better than that. I'm … just not the cosplay type." He gestured to the bartender with his almost-empty bloody mary glass. The man nodded and began to make another drink.

"Okay … but you know all about it, right? Like the bartender, he seems pretty normal. I mean, a little bit formal, but is there something I don't know?" Zack was truly curious about this whole lifestyle. It was the first manga convention/signing that he'd ever been to.

"I'm Yuki-san, Vet-san's best friend," the bartender said as he delivered Sephiroth's drink. He grinned. "See? My ever-present smile? My suit and tie … since I'm a normal salary-man. I have my briefcase back here behind the bar." He lifted it up for their inspection. "See? I even have the same name-sticker that Yuki-san has on his."

Uh-oh. Zack could smell the devotion of another fan. But at his side, Sephiroth was smiling, nodding, reaching across to shake the bartender's hand. "What's your name, dude?" Zack asked, shaking the bartender's hand, too.

"Didn't you hear me, Customer-san? My name's Yuki-san." He scratched his head, grinned idiotically, then nodded emphatically as he said, "_hai, hai, hai_." Sephiroth laughed, delighted at the terrific acting job. Zack looked from one to the other, shook his head, and drained his beer.

'Yuki-san' got him another beer, then went off to handle other customers. Sephiroth was still smiling, watching the guy leave before taking a hit off his own drink. They sat quietly for a while, then Zack decided it was time to find out what was bothering his friend.

"So … earlier, you were pretty weirded out, or somethin'. What happened?" Zack turned on his barstool so that he was facing Sephiroth. Zack was starting to feel weird himself – since he was practically the only person in the whole bar who was dressed in _normal_ clothes!

It was a few seconds before Sephiroth responded, as he stared into his blood mary, lips pursed. Then he opened his mouth, and Zack took a blow he never saw coming. "Some guy came onto me, and I didn't even know what was happenin'. Cloud had to explain it to me."

Zack stared. "You're kidding."

"Nope," Sephiroth said. "And … it was Kitano-sensei. The author. I guess … I just needed time to sort it all out." He took a pull off the drink, watching in the mirror as a girl dressed as Vet-san's receptionist walked by behind them.

Zack was staring at him, mouth open. Well, he never saw this one coming! He thought it'd be something like, 'I lost my Tsundere phone charm' or something like that. Well, not quite that trivial, but still! This was outta left field! "Wow," Zack said, flabbergasted. He continued staring.

"Not quite what you envisioned when you spritzed me with the pheromones, eh?" Seph said, one eyebrow up.

Zack closed his mouth. Expressions fled across his face – puzzlement, amusement, chagrin. "Dude," he breathed. "So what didja do?"

"Do? I didn't even fucking know it was happening, when it was happening. So I didn't do anything, I just got his autograph and we left. Cloud told me after, when we were having lunch."

"How did Cloud know? I mean, did the guy grab your—"

"DON'T," Seph said warningly. "Nothing like that. He signed my Tsundere Veterinarian book _weirdly_." He took another drink. "Called me 'beautiful'. Left his phone numbers. What would you make outta something like that?" He slid a cool green gaze (behind the hideous glasses, of course) over to Zack.

He didn't even have to think about it. "Yeah, he was hittin' on ya, definitely," Zack replied. "Wow."

"That's all you got to say? Come on, _friend_ … what's your advice?" Sephiroth's voice dripped with sarcasm … but he did really wanna know.

Zack took another hit off his beer, a nice long one, so he'd have the time to think. "Ahh," he said after swallowing. Then he looked at Seph. "Well … what do ya think about it? I mean, do you like the guy?" This is our wonderful, sweet, unbiased Zack. He was surprised, but he wasn't grossed out or anything of the kind. He had plenty of friends in Midgar who were gay. He wouldn't be 100% happy to have Sephiroth join their ranks … and his view of The General of the ShinRa Armies didn't quite allow for him to be gay … but if he _was_, or bi, or whatever … it was okay with Zack. He'd realign his thinking and continue to be his friend. That's what friends did.

"Oh, he's okay, I guess," Seph began, sarcastic again. "Shit, Zack … he's the author of _Tsundere Veterinarian_! I've practically idolized him for _years_!" He looked at Zack, frowning. "But from a distance, as an _artist_. I can't even wrap my head around seeing him as … as a fucking _boyfriend_." He finished off the current bloody mary, held up his glass and wiggled it at 'Yuki-san'.

"Okay, all that aside," Zack said, intent on tackling the problem from another angle. "Forget who it is for a minute. Think about this side of it … kissing a man." He paused as Sephiroth froze next to him. "Sex … with a man. How does that sound? Make ya feel kinda grossed-out? Or does the idea turn you on."

Slowly, Seph's head turned until he was looking at Zack again. The overhead lights hit his glasses just perfectly, and for a moment the lenses looked white, not clear. His lips were pressed tightly together. 'Yuki-san' came over with a new bloody mary, and Sephiroth held up a hand for silence when Zack opened his mouth to speak. New drink on a napkin in front of him, Seph, looked at it, removed the celery stick and added it to the neat pile he had built next to the napkin. 'Yuki-san' moved on.

"So? What do ya think?" Zack asked, completely missing the danger signals.

"I think …" Sephiroth began, then took a nice hit off the latest drink. "… I think … I'm done talking about this."

"I hate celery, too," said a quiet voice from his other side.

Zack heard it, too, and leaned forward to look around Sephiroth. He saw … Kitty-chan, first. Then a floppy-brimmed hat. Then, when the man lifted his head, a handsome face with blue-tinted, round glasses. "Uh …" he said, looking at Sephiroth, whose face he couldn't see, since Seph had turned his head to look at the newcomer, too.

And was now sitting there, frozen. _Oh, fuck_, Sephiroth thought. He stared at Sensei. 'Yuki-san' came over and got Kitano-sensei's drink order – a strawberry daiquiri – and walked off to make it.

Kitano-sensei smiled up at him. "Afternoon, Seph-san," he said. "Who's your friend?" He leaned forward to look around Seph.

By now over his shock, Sephiroth was able to speak. He cleared his throat. "_Ahem_ … this is Zack Fair, friend of mine from Midgar. Zack," Sephiroth said, turning his head to look meaningfully, threateningly, into Zack's eyes, "… this is M. Kitano-sensei. The author of—"

"… of _Tsundere Veterinarian_!" Zack finished, in that 'shouted whisper' thing that he could do so well. "Pleased to meetcha, uh, sensei," he said, reaching across Sephiroth to offer his hand for a shake. He gave a nice big smile.

"You, too," Sensei said. "But please, while we're out and about … won't you please both call me Mitsuo?" He shook Zack's hand.

"Mitsuo-san it is," Zack said, settling back down on his barstool. "Come out to mingle with the locals?" He shot a quick glance at Sephiroth, who was drinking his bloody mary like a man fresh in from the desert.

"Yes," Sensei said mildly. 'Yuki-san' brought his daiquiri and he accepted it with a smile. "I don't like to just sit in the hotel waiting for signings. I like to get out and see things. And this is my first time to Costa Del Sol, so …." He took another drink.

"That's cool," Zack said, grinning. He gave Seph a little kick. But it was like the General didn't even feel it. He was currently gesturing for another drink.

"Are you two staying in the hotel?" Mitsuo-san asked as he set his daiquiri glass back down.

"Nope," Zack replied. "We've got one o' those, um, cabana-thingies down on the beach. Nice place, really. Three bedrooms, all the amenities, great view … all the things two buddies need on a weekender like this." He smiled, took a drink of his beer, and kicked Sephiroth again.

'Yuki-san' put another bloody mary in front of Sephiroth. Kitano-sensei reached in and removed the celery stick, carefully put it on the little pile near Seph's napkin. "There. That's better," he said, turning his face up to Seph with a little smile.

"Thank you," Sephiroth said quietly. He picked up the glass and took a healthy drink.

Zack took out his phone. "Wow, look at the time!" he said.

Sephiroth's head slowly turned toward Zack. "What are you doing, Zachary?" A glacier would be jealous of the chill in Seph's voice.

"I've got a phone call I havta make, you guys," he said, cheerfully. "I'll be back in a bit, okay? Save my seat for me!" He stood up.

Sephiroth glared at him as he finished his beer. Kitano-sensei, oblivious to anything except for the fact that he was blissfully sitting next to his crush, took a sip from his daiquiri.

"Okay … be right back!" Zack grinned at Sephiroth and smacked him on the back. Then he was gone.

Silence reigned for a little bit. Then Sensei cleared his throat, making Sephiroth jump slightly. "So … have you known Zack-kun for a long time, Seph-san?" he asked, looking up at the tall man.

Resigned, Sephiroth turned to face the smaller man. "Yes," he replied. "We work together. I've known him since he signed on with the company."

"That's nice," Sensei said. He was happy. His face shone with it. He clinked his glass against Seph's and took another drink. "Mm … this is good."

"Great," Sephiroth said, studiously keeping any trace of sarcasm out of his voice. This was starting to feel like one of the fucked-up dates Zack arranged for him all the time!

"Seph-san … may I ask a personal question?"

Sephiroth's internal alarm system went off. But he kept this off his face as he said, smoothly, "Of course, Mitsuo-kun. What would you like to know?"

Little did he know that, by naming Sensei with the –kun honorific, he'd given the smaller man _such_ a thrill. Sure, he was younger than Seph-san, but nobody called him –kun anymore! Nobody! He shifted in his seat, turning his entire body to face Seph-san, his whole face alight. "Thank you! I just wanted to know – and since you called me Mitsuo-kun I think you might've answered it – but how old are you?"

"34," Sephiroth said, emotionlessly. What in the world did that have to do with anything?

"Ohh, then we are very close in age … and you are, indeed, older than me," Sensei said. But he didn't offer up his own age. If he was waiting for Seph to show some curiosity, he'd be waiting forever. The tall man didn't say anything, just drank his bloody mary.

That wouldn't stop the flow of puppy love that was currently spiking to a high in Sensei's heart. He took a sip of his own drink and said, "Are you and Cloud-kun going to the hotel again this afternoon?"

"Well, that's the plan," Seph said. "We're supposed to meet there at 4."

Sensei surreptitiously checked his watch. Not even 2:30 yet. Score! "Oh, good. I think I might go, too." He smiled.

"You probably should show up," Seph said, a tiny smile quirking his lips.

"I'll think about it," Sensei said. "If I'm not busy. We'll see." He grinned up at the other man. _Gawd, he was so gorgeous_!

_Tsundere Veterinarian_ wasn't popular for nothing. On top of being able to draw, beautifully, Kitano-sensei also had a ready wit and a fantastic sense of humor. Those were the biggest reasons for the manga's popularity. Everyone talked about how funny it was … and it was _all_ Sensei, from cover to cover. He was handsome, he was fit, he was a good conversationalist, he was quick with a witty rejoinder … and today, at this moment, he was _on_.

He quickly read the situation and decided that it was best, if he wanted to get to know Seph-san better and for Seph-san to know him better (and hopefully like him), he should talk about the manga. So he said, nonchalantly, "I've been thinking about the manga lately," with a smile, knowing that Seph would know that when he was working he had to eat, drink, breathe _Tsundere Veterinarian_. "And I've been thinking that perhaps it's time for Vet-san to get another pet."

Sephiroth almost dropped his drink. Although Vet-san cared for all animals, his only 'pet' since the beginning had been Kitty-chan. He stared at Kitano-sensei, bloody mary forgotten in his hand. "What?"

"Well, I think that it would open up a lot of new areas for comedy in the series … especially a cute jealous Kitty-chan. What do you think?" He looked up at Seph, over the rim of the blue-tinted glasses.

Seph-san gave it serious thought, but his face was excited, animated. Sensei stared up at him, enthralled.

"Honestly? I think it would be amazing … especially in your hands, Mitsuo-kun. I agree, you could have a field day with tossing in another element like that. Can … can I ask? What kind of pet are you talking about?" The otaku in Sephiroth had taken over. He was looking down at Sensei, his gaze intent.

Through the beginnings of a helpless blush, Sensei said, "I have two options that I'm seriously considering. One – a parrot. One with a filthy mouth and a propensity for telling lies. But I already see problems with that."

Sephiroth nodded. "Kitty-chan can't talk," he said, seeing into the heart of the matter immediately.

"Exactly!" Sensei said. "That's not fair. People would get aggravated and the parrot would turn into an antagonist. Unless I either make it so he has permanent laryngitis – which was an early idea – or have the parrot actually _fall in_ _love_ with Kitty-chan." He grinned.

Sephiroth sat there for a moment, his eyebrows up … and then he tossed his head back and laughed. That would be crazy! Hilarious! And just like _Tsundere Veterinarian_. "That would be … ah, shit, that would be totally great, Sensei," Seph said, after his laughter abated. "What's the second idea?" He took a sip of his drink.

"A sloth with ADHD," Sensei said.

Sephiroth got some bloody mary down the wrong tube and ended up sputtering into his drink. He almost did a gross red spit-take. Instead he coughed into the napkin, Sensei patting his back (_I'm touching him_!), until he recovered enough to just laugh.

"And not one of those elderly sloths with rheumy eyes and a crusty ass … a little young one, cute and cuddly," Sensei continued, as Seph laughed helplessly next to him. "There would be some sibling rivalry at first, of course, but I'd try to make that funny instead of anxiety-producing. The sloth would be clueless, you know, but Kitty-chan has had the Vet to himself all this time." He stopped, looking at Seph-san over the rim of his glass as he took another drink of his second daiquiri. "Anyhow, that's what I'm thinking so far."

Sephiroth had stopped laughing by now, but he was trying to wipe his eyes without taking off his glasses, which wasn't working very well. Add to that, the fact that he'd had quite a few bloody marys this afternoon, and he was making a mess of things.

Sensei leaned forward. "Here," he said. "Let me." He grabbed the napkin before Seph-san could refuse his help, and pushed Seph's glasses up on his forehead. Sephiroth's eyes were closed, so he wiped his eyes quickly and efficiently, not wanting to come off as creepy. But when the other man opened his eyes, when Sensei finished – _wow_. Sensei looked into the … the most beautiful green eyes … so luminous, so intelligent, so … damn. He let go of the glasses. He leaned back. But he couldn't pull his eyes away.

Seph-san was looking down at him with slightly smashed affection. "Thanks," he said.

"You know," Sensei said carefully, not wanting to blow this. "I actually have done some preliminary drawings."

Sephiroth stared. "No way."

"Yes. And I have them with me. Well, at the hotel, anyway."

"Wow." Sephiroth was busily, drunkenly, trying to think of a way to get Sensei to show these to him.

"Would you like to see them?" Sensei, not very good at reading people, especially when he was in an agony of anticipation, kept his eyes on his daiquiri.

"Would … would I like to see them?!" Sephiroth shouted. He quickly calmed himself and looked around, making sure he wasn't drawing attention. "Yes!" he hissed, leaning in close. "God yes, I would."

"We can go to the hotel … up to my room. That's where they are. Would … would that be okay?" He was so close. Sensei felt a shiver run up his spine. A _good_ shiver.

Sephiroth tossed back the rest of his drink. "Ready?" he asked, getting up from the stool. This was amazing! This was fantastic! Wait 'til he told Cloud! The guy was gonna _die_ from envy! He was grinning as he tossed a wad of gil onto the bar. 'Yuki-san' came back over, picked it up, bowing and saying "_hai, hai, hai_," through a big grin. Seph laughed.

"Yes! I mean … yes, I'm ready." Sensei got up, too, found out that Seph-san had covered his two daiquiris, and looked up at the tall, handsome man. "Shall we?" He smiled.

"Yep. Let's go." Sephiroth got his bearings … whoa, how many bloody marys had he had? Focus, focus. There! The door. They walked toward it together, Sensei looking up at Sephiroth excitedly, smiling.

And that's when Cloud came back out of the karaoke room.

XXX

He'd had to fix his cosplay gear, but he was back in it and was lookin' good. The customer had only wanted to play for an hour, so that was one good thing. (The guy had been a real weirdo – he'd made Cloud fuck a Kitty-chan stuffed animal. When Cloud had caught sight of himself in one of the mirrors, humping away at the black cat, he'd suffered a sudden attack of laughter that he'd had a hard time turning into sounds of passion.) He'd cleaned up, cleaned up the room (he didn't have to do this, but for the maid-san to see the cottony stuffing laying around? – he couldn't stand the idea.)

Quickly, quickly, he washed up and put the Vet-san gear back on. He cleaned up the room faster than he ever had, wanting to get back out there and see what was going on with his friend. So when he walked out and saw the barstools empty, for a moment he thought that perhaps Seph and his friend were elsewhere in the bar. Or maybe they'd left – it was going on 3pm, and he was supposed to meet Seph at the hotel in an hour. Or maybe ….

Maybe he was still here, on his way out the door, with Kitano-sensei. Cloud stopped, frozen in his tracks. He stared as the two reached the front door and went out. He could see Seph hailing a cab, Sensei by his side. Cloud darted for the door as it started to close. He held it open, watching as the cab pulled to the curb. Maybe Seph was just getting a cab _for_ Sensei, not for himself. But that thought was quickly dashed when he saw the men walk to the cab and open the door, Seph sliding in first, Sensei behind him. The doors shut. The cab pulled away. Cloud stepped out onto the sidewalk and watched it for as long as he could, until it turned off the main drag, beachward.

He turned around and went back inside. He found Ray and told him he was taking off, gave him his share of his take for the afternoon. Ray immediately gave most of it back, since Cloud had worked the crowd in his Vet-san gear, as agreed. He thanked the older man, then left. He walked back to his apartment, let himself in, and immediately took off all his cosplay stuff, putting it away carefully – although the lab coat went into the wash.

He took a shower, making sure he was as clean as clean could be, studiously keeping his thoughts away from what Seph might or might not be doing. He got dressed again, in black this afternoon. The t-shirt had Vet-san on it, frowning thunderously – in fact, there were clouds and lightning behind him. Black jeans, black Vans, black sunglasses, and hell with it … black beanie with Kitty-chan's green eyes on it, glaring, of course. He grabbed his keys and bag, then left the apartment, an intent look on his face.

The walk back to the hotel seemed longer than usual. He was pretty good at keeping his mind blank, just walking, one foot in front of the other, looking at the sidewalk.

"Hey!" he heard it, but didn't think whoever it was was talking to him. "Hey! You there … you … _Cloud_! Is that you, Cloud?" Obviously, he'd been wrong. Cloud stopped walking and looked at the street. A taxi had pulled up alongside him. A dark-haired guy, vaguely familiar, was leaning out the back window.

"You _are_ Cloud, aren'tcha?" he said, smiling.

"Yeah," Cloud said. "Who are you?"

"I'm Seph's friend, Zack. He showed me your picture. Heh, you goin' to the hotel? I'll give ya a ride! Come on! It's too hot to walk." He grinned and opened the cab's door.

Cloud shrugged. Now that the guy said it, he recognized him, vaguely, from Ray's. He walked to the cab and got in, shut the door, then turned to this "Zack". "Thanks, man," he said.

"No problem. Any friend of Seph's ..." Zack said.

_Straight. As an arrow_, Cloud thought. He smiled.

XXX

Sensei's room was the best the hotel had to offer. It was a nice large suite, with separate bedrooms and a huge bathroom, even a fully-functional kitchen. "This is nice," Sephiroth said, more to make conversation than anything else.

"Yeah," Sensei said. "I like it. Hey, do you want something to drink? I've got water, soda, tea, coffee, beer, oolong tea—"

"Oolong tea will be fine," Seph said, looking out at the view of the ocean visible through the wall of windows opposite the door. A balcony beckoned outside, with little tables and chaise lounges here and there. It really was a nice room.

Sensei appeared beside him. "Shall we go outside? We'll get settled and I'll go get my sketchbook."

Sephiroth looked down at him and opened the sliding glass door, gesturing for Sensei to exit before him. He sat their drinks down on a table with a festive umbrella over it, pulled two of the chairs close together, then gestured towards them and hurried back inside.

Sephiroth watched him. Down in his alcohol-soaked brain, a small warning bell had been going off for about a half-hour now, but he couldn't hear it. All he could hear was Sensei asking if he wanted to see the raws for the new pet character! This was _awesome_! He looked out over the ocean for a few seconds, admiring the beach and the blue of the sea, then walked back to the table, popped the top on a bottle of oolong tea, and guzzled a few swallows as he sat down.

Kitano-sensei reappeared with a sketchbook in his hands. He smiled at the picture of this big beautiful man sitting at his table. Wow. He had gorgeous skin – pale and smooth, like marble instead of flesh. He sat down in the chair next to Seph-san's and laid the sketchbook on the table, unopened. He picked up his bottle of oolong tea and opened it, took a nice long drink. "Ahh," he said. "That's good. My favorite brand."

"Mine, too," Seph agreed. "Good stuff." He took another drink of his.

"Okay," Sensei said, opening his sketchbook. "Here's where it starts. If you'll look here …." He directed Seph-san's attention to the first of the panels, where a parrot flew into Vet-san's office window and pooped on his head. Some of them were in color, and Seph was properly admiring of the style, the colors, and the content. It was _very_ funny … if there was one thing Sensei knew, it was how to make people laugh. The cartoonish views of the parrot were hysterical … he was all beak and crazy eyes, flying around and crapping on Kitty-chan, too. In the last panel the parrot was surrounded by little hearts, sprinkling catnip on himself as he gazed at Kitty-chan with longing.

Seph was laughing so hard, he could barely breathe. So it's understandable that he, while pursuing this subject he loved so much, totally missed it when Sensei's hand dropped casually onto his thigh.

Kitano-sensei said, "Okay, now … here is where that line stops, and the ADHD sloth begins. See? Vet-san gets a crate from South America, and the sloth is hiding inside, underneath some bananas." From there, things went totally crazy. Every time Vet-san turned around, the sloth would be hanging off the back of his lab coat. But when the sloth saved Kitty-chan from a Pekinese with a grudge, his spot in the household was assured.

"He … he uses an _egg beater_ to save Kitty-chan?!" Sephiroth gasped, laughing as he looked at this particular panel.

"Yes," Sensei said, licking his upper lip. "See? The Pekinese looks like a plate of scrambled eggs here." He leaned in closer.

"And … is this a pile of meringue?" Seph asked, gasping, wiping his eyes again.

"Yep. Sloth-chan, 1. Pekinese, 0." Sensei grinned up at Seph-san. A laughing Sephiroth was a sight to behold. And Sensei was eating it up. So to speak.

Sephiroth collapsed back in his chair. So funny! He wished Cloud were here to see these raws … he would have enjoyed it so much. He was about to open his mouth to say something along these lines, when he became aware of pressure on his thigh. He looked down and saw Sensei's hand, slowly rubbing his leg through his jeans. He glanced up and saw that Sensei had scooted closer, and his blushing face was right _there_.

"S-Seph-san," he said breathlessly. "I … I like you. Could … could you maybe …." He was blushing so hotly that his face felt like it was aflame. The blue glasses and the hat were gone. Kitano-sensei was a very good-looking man, and right now, he was cuter than hell.

Even Sephiroth could see that. His normally calculating brain, evaluating the situation as best it could with the addition of 7 or 8 bloody marys, noted that he was slight of build, muscular but not bulky – well-shaped, slender musculature. It was … well, if he had to be truthful, it was … nice. Or something.

"What is it you want, Mitsuo-kun?" he heard himself ask.

His deep voice caressed Kitano-sensei's ears … and the addition of 'Mitsuo-kun' made him feel a bit faint. But he fought it off, leaning forward, his hand sliding up higher on Seph-san's thigh. He saw Seph glance down at it, but Sensei could not read any expression on his face. "Seph-san," he began, swallowing hard. "I … I would like a kiss." He couldn't look at the other man's face again. He just couldn't! "Please."

There was a long silence, which Sensei endured with agony. "On the lips?" Seph-san's voice sounded sincerely curious.

"Yes. Please."

The sensation of movement. The feeling of breath on his cheek. Then, softly, the pressure of warm lips on his. The pressure eased up … the kiss was ending … already! No, too soon, too soon! Sensei leaned forward, pressing his mouth desperately against Seph-san's, then kissing, kissing him with all the longing in his body. His tongue slid out, to tentatively, hesitantly touch. Seph-san's lips moved, opening slightly, and Sensei couldn't help himself, he slid his tongue in to taste that mouth. A low moan reverberated in his throat. Kissing … he was kissing this beautiful man!

Sephiroth, for his part, was wondering what in the fuck he was _doing_. He couldn't deny that it felt good, though, and that was the only reason that he hadn't pulled away and decked the little manga artist. Well, that and because this _was_ M. Kitano-sensei. And because he had kissed _first_. But if what happened next was any indication, things were spiraling out of control and he needed to put the brakes on, before something happened that couldn't be taken back.

Too late. Sensei's hand was on his crotch, caressing expertly, rubbing and squeezing … and Sephiroth's traitorous dick was reacting in record time. Pleasure arced up through his groin, a grunt was forced from his lips before he could do anything to stop it. Sensei gasped against his lips, and suddenly he was gone.

Only to forcefully reappear a moment later, lapping with enthusiasm at the bulge in Sephiroth's jeans. Sephiroth stared down, eyes wide. What the fuck?! Sensei nibbled at it, and Seph's cock flexed inside his pants, making him grunt again. What … what was happening?

"Please," Sensei breathed, hands busy at Seph's fly, "please, Seph-san … let me …."

"Wh-what?" Seph managed to get out, but then Sensei's mouth was on the head of his throbbing penis, and he lost all capability of focused speech. Seph stared downward, eyes wide, hands gripping the arms of the chair. He … he was … oh Shiva. Holy shit. The muscles in his legs tightened up, his abdominal muscles fluttered and twitched as pleasure bloomed in his pelvis. The man … Sensei was a cock-sucking wonder. Sephiroth hadn't felt this good since he could remember. Since, like, _ever_. Sephiroth couldn't think. He could only sit there and _feel_.

Kitano-sensei hadn't had a lot of lovers, but he'd had a few and he knew what felt good to a man's dick. He was in excellent form, using his lips and his tongue, kissing and licking and sucking his little heart out. That heart hammered in his chest, his cock was throbbing against the fly of his pants, he felt like he could come just from _giving_ head. He'd never been so turned on. He moaned happily, gripping Seph-san's thighs with both hands, sucking his member all the way down his throat and swallowing, sucking and wriggling his tongue against it. He looked up – Seph-san's head was thrown back against the back of the chair, his mouth was open slightly, his eyes were closed. Ahh, yes. He was liking it! A _lot_, if his gasping breaths were any indication. Sensei shuddered in reaction. _Oh my gods_.

Sephiroth was going to come. Soon, if the spikes of pleasure building inside were any indication. He moaned helplessly as it built even higher. "Ah!" he gasped, his hands moving without his knowledge to grasp Sensei's head, fingers twining into his hair. "Nn," Seph grunted, his hips beginning to move along with Sensei's mouth, flexing in a slow, slightly circular rhythm.

Sensei gasped as his own pleasure amped up, when Seph-san's hands pulled his hair. "Nn!" He threw himself into it, shaking as he felt this gorgeous man's hips thrust his dick into Mitsuo's wet, waiting mouth. He was going to swallow, he wanted it! He hardly ever swallowed, but he wanted this man's cum in his mouth more than he'd wanted anything in a long, long time. He sucked, hard, and when Seph-san's body stopped the rhythm and tightened, shaking with tension and need, Sensei came in his pants, helplessly, moaning with mindless delight.

Sephiroth's orgasm was the best of his _life_. He lifted his head, opened his eyes, and looked down to see Sensei between his legs, sucking his dick, shaking and shuddering … and coming?! Yes, yes he _was_ … and Sephiroth was _gone_, just like that, his cock flexed and throbbed and pleasure exploded inside as his semen shot out into Sensei's mouth. He watched, hanging onto the chair for dear life, as Sensei drank it all down, the look on his face not like the women who'd sucked him off before, who basically looked like they were just bearing it … he was transformed, transported, his face held such bliss that Sephiroth's hips thrusted forward in reaction.

Sensei pulled back a bit and held his open lips near the head of Seph-san's dick, so he could see his cum spurting into that waiting mouth. The last few drops flecked his lips and he licked it up and smiled, sweetly, blissfully.

Sephiroth was gasping for breath, harshly, curled forward in the chair, hanging onto Sensei's head, his eyes squeezed closed now, coming down from one intense orgasm. Sensei's head turned in his hands and kissed his wrist. Illogically, Sephiroth patted Sensei's head, ruffling his hair, almost, and Sensei laughed softly, breathlessly. Finally Seph's muscles relaxed and he was able to flop backwards in the chair, swallowing hard, feeling boneless in his relaxation. Movement between his legs, and he cracked an eye open to look.

Sensei stood up, leaned forward, kissed Seph-san on the cheek. "Be right back," he whispered. "Don't move. Just a moment." He straightened up and began walking back toward the door. Sephiroth's eye tracked him, watched him stumble slightly, then he was gone.

His breathing was calming. His body was so relaxed, he felt so good … like he'd just had an X-potion or something. He forced himself to reach out to the table and pick up the bottle of oolong tea. He downed it, throat working, then put it back, sighing.

Sensei returned, warm wet bath towel in hand. He started to wash Seph off but the other man took the towel, saying he'd do it himself, thanks anyway for the thought. He watched as Seph-san cleaned himself off and put himself back to rights. Sensei was in a robe, tightly belted around his waist but open in a deep slit to below his breast bone. Both men sat down again. Kitano-sensei noted that Seph-san was frowning and felt his heart sink. After that he kept his eyes on the floor. "S-Seph-san … if, um … if I offended you in any way, I'm very sorry, but … but I'm so g-glad that-you-came-back-here-with-me!" The last sentence was said in a rush, the words blending together.

Sephiroth looked at the little guy. _Forget for a moment that it was M. Kitano-sensei. What would I say to any other person in this situation?_ He leaned forward. "Sensei."

"Y-yes?"

Seph leaned forward, hands clasped between his knees. "I don't do things like this," he said calmly. "Ever. I don't know why I did today."

Sensei just sat there, miserable.

"It's not that I think it's shameful. It's just that … I try to be more honorable than that. I don't fall into 'bed' with anybody, if I can help it. But today … this was something entirely different. I'm not sure how to feel about it, and I don't know how things will go from here … but I just want to tell you that it was absolutely amazing."

Sensei looked up into Seph-san's face. What he saw there – quiet, calm acceptance and kindness – made him smile and nod.

"I'm going to go now. But we'll meet again, right? And we'll have both thought things over a bit. We can talk. And see if there's anything to come of this. If I can even do this. I don't promise anything – but I won't just blow you off. Ever. I promise. All right?" Sephiroth's face was serious and intense.

"All right, Seph-san," Sensei said. "I … I liked it, too," he added shyly.

"I know you did, Mitsuo-kun," Seph said, with a kind chuckle.

Sensei smiled. "I'll see you later on this afternoon?"

"This afternoon?" Sephiroth looked at his watch. "Son of a _bitch_! It's after 3:30! Sorry, Mitsuo-kun, I gotta go! See you later on at the … the thing, all right?" He shot up out of his chair, patted Sensei clumsily on the head, and dashed out the door, leaving one confused but strangely satisfied young man behind him.

XXX

He tore out of the hotel's front door, noting but not caring about the line of people waiting to get in. Dammit! He was going to be late but he _had_ to get a quick shower and change. He stopped at the curb and put his fingers to his lips, gave one piercingly loud whistle and raised a hand over his head. A cab screeched to a stop at the curb, Sephiroth yanked the door open, jumped in, and told him to get to the Kopa Kabana, STAT! It screeched away from the curb again, executed a u-turn, horn blaring, and sped away down the street.

He didn't notice Cloud, waiting in line, who watched all this with an inscrutable look on his face.

XXX

**End Chapter 5**

**Well, well, well. A lot can happen in one slow afternoon, can't it? :D **

**Update comin' soon, hope you all enjoyed this chapter … thanks for reading! **

**Ahvienda**


	6. Chapter 6 -- Ultima

**Chapter 6 – "Ultima"**

**Same warnings and disclaimers. (If I'm bored with it, I KNOW you must be!) :D**

Well. Sephiroth now knew just how many bloody mary's it took for him to let a guy suck his dick. He'd had his shower – basically turning on the water and running through the spray once – and was now sitting in the back of the cab again, on his way back to the hotel for the next meet with Cloud. Just thinking Cloud's name made his skin crawl with nervous regret … what would the little guy think if he knew what Seph had just done? Would he be grossed out? Sephiroth slid his fingers under his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Fuck. He liked Cloud, he could see them becoming even better friends than they already were, and he didn't want anything to ruin that.

Decision made. Cloud could never know what had happened with Sensei. And … and after tomorrow, when he left to go back to Midgar, it would be easy to keep it all secret. To forget about it. Wouldn't it? They'd go back to being Nimble and Whitey. Like it never happened, except for some good memories. Easy. Right?

He let his glasses fall back into place and stared out the window at the passing scenery, miserable. What in the _hell_ had come over him? He couldn't think about it _now_, it would have to wait – but think about it he would, dammit. Things like this kept happening to him … the women Zack set him up with, firstly, and now this … this _thing_ with Sensei. Shit.

He'd think about it later. All of it. Like he promised Kitano-sensei. But seriously … now was not the time.

It only took a few minutes to get back to the hotel, and when he did, he paid the cabbie, got out, and looked around for Cloud. Not seeing him, he began walking down toward the end of the line, keeping an eye out for blond hair and bright blue eyes. Nada. Getting in line at the end, his frown discouraging conversation with the people in front of him, he stood there, rigid, regretting everything that made him late for this 'date' with Cloud.

XXX

Inside the hotel, Cloud sat at one of the small tables inside the banquet hall that had been turned into a food court. He had a cup of coffee in front of him, and was sitting so that he could see all the way through the hall and the lobby to the front doors. Waiting for Seph, he tried like hell to keep all thoughts of Sensei out of his head. It did no good to wonder what they did, it wasn't his business. It did no good to wonder what had made Seph run like the hotel was on fire, earlier when Cloud saw him leaving.

He just hoped Seph was coming back. He was, wasn't he? A quick glance at his watch showed that it was only 7 minutes after the time they said they'd meet.

Sighing, Cloud sipped coffee. Pictures kept trying to flash through his mind, pictures of Seph and Kitano-sensei, together. _Together_ together. Interspersed with these pictures were flash-memories of himself, doing some of the things he'd done at his "job". He grimaced and tried not to think about things anymore. Instead, he looked around, observing the people already filling up the hotel. It was the last day of the event, and it was looking like the place would be packed to the rafters for it.

"Hey."

Cloud startled, almost knocking over his cup. He grabbed it to steady it as he looked up. Seph stood there, looking down at him, a … uh … a totally _blank_ look on his face. "Hey, man," Cloud said, kicking out the chair in front of Seph. "Plant it, we got some time," he said, grinning.

This was Cloud's plan: pretend that he knew nothing. It was all he could come up with on such short notice. Too many variables. And his raw emotional state – which he couldn't explain – made his decisionary process kinda shaky. So he did what anybody with half a brain would do … pretend and procrastinate.

"Thanks," Seph said, sitting down with an audible sigh. "Sorry I'm late. Something came up." He winced.

"No problem," Cloud said. "I haven't been here all that long." _Lie! This was his third cup of coffee!_

"Oh, good," Seph said, relaxing a bit. _Talk, dammit!_ he thought. "So … what's on the agenda for today?" A harried-looking waiter took his order for coffee as Cloud dug the schedule out of his back pocket. "Like your shirt," Seph added, gesturing toward the black T.

"It's one of my favorites," Cloud agreed as he unfolded the schedule and peered at it. "Okay … Sunday, here we go … the brunch starts in about a half hour, in here." He looked up at Seph, grinning. "Glad I got a table early, then, right?"

"Too right," Seph agreed.

"Let's see - it says here that things have been such a success that they're going to open up the stands after brunch. Not sure about what appearances Sensei will be makin'."

"I think I've spent enough money on the stands," Seph said, smoothly ignoring the 'Sensei' part. "Unless there's something special going on?"

Cloud was reading. "… It doesn't say anything else about special stuff. But you never know. I went to one of these two years ago, at the Golden Saucer? – and on the last day they did surprise drawings and stuff. So it might be worth it to stick it out until the end." He looked at Seph hopefully.

Who snorted in disbelief, scoffing as he said, "Who said I was leaving early? What do you think, I'm some kind of slacker? I'm in this for the long haul, Nimble," he finished, then grinned. No matter what had happened earlier? – he was still a _Tsundere Veterinarian_ fan, and this person across the table was his friend. He'd stay, like he'd said he would, and not leave for Midgar until tomorrow afternoon, as planned. The General didn't run from confrontation or embarrassing predicaments. _Cry havoc! And let slip the dogs of war._ Or, uh, at least _don't slink off like a whipped puppy_. Somewhere in between those two sentiments was where Sephiroth's head was at.

"All right!" Cloud yelled. His blue eyes glittered as he grinned back at Seph. They clinked their coffee mugs together and smiled at each other.

They chatted idly about nothing, really, until the teal-blue curtains parted at one end of the huge banquet hall, roughly 15 meters from where Cloud and Sephiroth sat with their coffee cups. Music began to play, booming from the excellent sound system. "Ladies and gentlemen … boys and girls … veterinarians and felines … manga aficionados one and all … welcome to the final day of the _Tsundere Veterinarian_ extravaganza!" Loud applause and cheering from the 'aficionados' (Cloud and Seph had exchanged a look here, with eyebrows up, as if to say 'OOooh').

"Throw those schedules away! Pay them no attention because they're no _good_ anymore, people!" From the side of the now-completely-revealed stage, a man who looked exactly like Vet-san strode out onto the stage. He struck a pose, frowning, hands on his hips, then moved to the side of the stage while the crowd cheered. "Welcome, everyone … to the final stage of the _Tsundere Veterinarian_ costume contest! Please welcome more of the contestants! Here, kitty-kitty-kitty!" The crowd roared as Kitty-chan bounded out onto the stage, scampering over to Vet-san, who pressed his hands over his heart as he smiled down at the excellently-costumed contestant.

"They look great!" Cloud shouted over the applause, cheers, and whistles.

"Hell yes!" Sephiroth agreed. They were both standing and clapping along with everyone else.

Finally the stage was filled with contestants, which included several Vet-sans, Kitty-chans, Yukis, Kaoru the receptionist, Nurse Trinkle, Vet-san's mother, and Toshira-sama (a frequent client at Vet-san's office – she had 6 poodles that she dyed different colors). "The judges have made their decisions! To announce the winners, please welcome the artiste himself – M. Kitano-sensei!"

When Sensei stuck his head around the edge of the curtain, the whole place went _nuts_. He was wearing Nurse Trinkle's uniform, right down to her starched white cap and squeaky, clunky shoes! He looked hysterical … everyone on stage was laughing and clapping, too, as he approached them, bowing and dropping his stethoscope, ink pen, notebook … his cap fell off when he bent over … just like poor clumsy Nurse Trinkle in the manga.

Cloud slanted a glance at Seph out of the corner of his eyes, and was relieved to see that he was laughing and clapping, just like everyone else, just like normal. "He's crazy!" he shouted as he leaned over close to Seph. Sephiroth nodded as he looked down at Cloud, and they grinned at each other again.

The clapping and laughter died down, but everyone stayed on their feet. "Let's get right to it, shall we?" Kitano-sensei said into the microphone.

"YES!"

XXX

Finally, the winners were taking their bows and accepting their prizes from Sensei to thunderous applause. Grand prize winner was one of the Mrs. Toshira entrants, who had the kimono, the poodles, and the mannerisms down _pat_. The contest hadn't been just about costumes – these days anyone could buy cosplay on the internet, complete with accessories … although points were given for 'home-made' costumes. It was about the character you were portraying, too. And the overall winner (Toshira-sama) was practically _perfect_. The guy who'd stepped on-stage first, as Vet-san, won First Prize. One of the receptionist Kaoru's won Second Prize, and a Kitty-chan won Third.

Unsurprisingly, Kitano-sensei won Honorable Mention for his hilarious turn as Nurse Trinkle.

But now that the contest was over, the party began, with the winners and all contestants walking around the floor, for pictures and adulation. Cloud got another dose of retina-burn from all the pics Seph took of him with the various characters. But he gave as good as he got, returning the favor as he took pictures of a beaming Sephiroth with all the winning entrants. Except for the Grand Prize winner – Mrs. Toshira seemed to have disappeared.

Cloud and Sephiroth had just taken possession of two more cups of coffee, finally sitting back down and half-shouting a conversation over the music and chatter of the crowd, when a loud whoop startled both men. Turning their heads in surprise, both saw Zack Fair coming towards their table, with a purple and white zebra-striped poodle under one arm, and the Grand Prize winner under the other. Both were beaming, had obviously been drinking, and almost fell on the table as they neared it.

"Heyy! Seph! And Cloud! Fancy meetin' you two here!" He laughed, pulling Toshira-sama against his side and planting a kiss on a blushing cheek.

"Zachary …" Seph began, but then shook his head and grinned. Cloud smiled, eyebrows up.

"Show'em your medal, Tushie," Zack slurred, smiling lazily. The poodle gave a little yip.

'Tushie' (actually 'Toshi', as the fans sometimes called Toshira-sama), held up the medal and grinned. "Ta-da," she said. "Real fake gold." Everyone laughed.

"Zack … in the manga Toshira-sama plays it as the matronly and dignified widow, but she's a closet vampire-love novel fan and has the hots for a 19-year-old part-timer at the convenience store near her house," Seph informed his friend.

"You look remarkably like him, young Zachary," the fake Toshira-san said, flipping open a fan and peeking over the top of it.

"Actually, you don't," Seph said, laughing. "Daisuke is a ganguro." [**A/N** – the Japanese youth who affect the blond, tanned look]

"Those are just surface things! I see _deeper_ into a person! I speak of Daisuke's _soul!_" Toshie sniffed, nose in the air as she whacked Seph on the head with her fan. Perfect! Cloud clapped, leaning back in his chair and laughing.

"Deeper, huh? We'll have to talk more about that," Zack leered. They made their goodbyes and walked unsteadily back through the crowd.

"I bet Zack ends up in more pictures than anyone else here," Sephiroth mused, a little smile curving his lips.

"Think he knows that Mrs. Toshira is a guy?" Cloud asked, lifting his coffee mug to his smiling lips.

"WHAT?"

XXX

The rest of the day was pure, unadulterated manga _bliss_. It's difficult to describe if you have never experienced the feeling of being completely saturated in a world that you love, a world that until this day had been only fantasy, something experienced alone or nearly-alone. When it comes to life around you, when you can touch it, hear it, soak it into your skin and wallow in it … ah, it's like your dearest, most beloved dream come true.

And so it was for Sephiroth. Cloud had been to conventions before, and so knew the feeling, re-living it and welcoming it back with open arms. But for Seph, it was an entirely new experience. So far from his sterile up-bringing in the lab, so far from his regimented life in the ShinRa Army, it was as though he was born anew in some way, he was free to really _be himself_, in this world that accepted him as one of their own.

His face shone with glee as he watched the skits that the contest entrants and winners put on, performing pages from the manga – but with little adlib items of their own thrown in – and even being able to join in sometimes, either as a member of a crowd on the streets in front of Vet-san's office, or as a policeman responding to a 911 call about primate violence. Cloud watched, laughing until his sides ached in the most pleasant way, letting Seph make the calls as to what they'd do next, saying he was too winded to take part in the skits so that Seph could. It wasn't that he was watching Seph's dignity shred, it was that Cloud was watching Seph's soul take flight. Or something like that. Cloud was slightly uncomfortable with the poetic turn his thoughts were taking.

He caught sight of Sensei numerous, numerous times as the day progressed, of course. The dimunitive man had changed out of Nurse Trinkle's costume and was now dressed in full traditional kimono. He wore the juban under his yukata, with a wide obi around his waist. He wore geta on his bare feet and carried a kinchaku (the carry-bag that probably contained a fan, his cell-phone, whatever). He had on the wide-legged hakama – in black silk that matched the yukata – and Cloud would bet his spangled thongs that Sensei was wearing a fundoshi underneath it all.

Cloud just tried to ignore Kitano-sensei. It wasn't easy. Every time he turned around, it seemed, there was the small man, staring at Seph on the stage, or beaming as he watched Seph laugh at the skits. Something inside Cloud burned as the day turned into evening.

They had supper in the courtyard that surrounded the hotel's pool. It was a huge area, walled off from the rest of the beach, tiled in white and blue. Palm trees dotted the landscape, along with flowering bushes and tinkling fountains. Strings of Japanese paper lanterns hung swaying in the salty breeze off the ocean. As the sun sank behind the hotel, stars began to glimmer out over the relatively-calm sea.

The breeze lowered the temperature to a balmy 75 degrees. People could either eat outside, as Cloud and Seph did, or could go to any of the themed banquet rooms inside the hotel and eat. They'd peeked into these rooms, laughing at the wait-staff dressed as orderlies or as animal-caricatures. But they'd opted for outside. It was quieter, and the calm cool evening was a stark contrast to the day's craziness.

"What's going on after dinner?" Seph asked around a mouthful of crab salad.

"Hang on," Cloud said, almost choking on a mouthful of daiquiri. He sat the bowl-shaped goblet down and dug into his pocket for the revised schedule he'd picked up on their way out to the courtyard. "Let's see here," he intoned, looking at 'Sunday'. "Okay … did that … we saw _that_, that was fucking hilarious! … here we go, supper and then … hmm."

"'Hmm'? A humming contest?" Seph snickered at his bad joke and slugged down half a bottle of oolong tea.

"Ell. Oh. Ell," Cloud deadpanned, then grinned. Humming? He wondered if Seph knew how the act of humming during a blowjob did two things: it amped up the pleasure for the recipient and helped disable the gag reflex of the giver. But he digressed. "No, funny man, I just wondered if they're still gonna do this stuff. There's going to be a fireworks display … and a band … wow, they're really going all out here!"

Seph motioned for the schedule with that 'gimme-gimme' flapping of his hand. Cloud handed it over, and Seph squinted at the sheet. He read, "… followed by midnight breakfast and then the closing ceremony. It all ends … huh. Doesn't say." He handed it back to Cloud.

"That's 'cause they end when the last person leaves," Cloud said, smiling as he raised his daiquiri to his lips again.

"Well, I'm game," Seph said, attacking the crab salad again.

"Same here!"

XXX

Zack appeared, no longer flanked by the smiling, blushing, cross-dressing Toshira-sama. "She was a _guy!_" he squawked, appearing unfazed by the way their fellow diners stared and then laughed. He sat down at the table, wiped his forehead with one hand, and picked up a pickle from Seph's plate. He used it to point at Seph. "Did you know that Tushie was a guy, dammit? If you knew and didn't tell me, so help me Bahamut, I'm going to thrash you to within an inch of your life."

Appearing unfazed by this dire warning, Seph took the pickle back and stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. He shook his head as he chewed.

"Uh," Cloud said, trying to hold back a smile by pressing his lips together. "I kinda did."

"What?" Zack's head swiveled to turn a hostile gaze on Cloud.

"Yeah. He's been to other cons in the past. Sorry, man, I didn't know that you didn't know." He shrugged, took another sip of daiquiri and then picked up a radish.

"What … what are you …" Zack sputtered. "Hey, man, I'm not _gay_. Okay? For fuck's sake, we were starting to get into it and then I just happened to notice that we _both_ had woodies!" His frown was thunderous.

Cloud couldn't help it – he snickered. "Sorry," he repeated. He popped the radish into his mouth. _Yep … straight as an arrow, as if I didn't already know that._

Sephiroth had his head down. He was uncomfortable with the turn this conversation was taking. Zack knew that Sensei had come onto him, and had 'counseled' him about it. Then he'd left him alone with Sensei – what did his friend think had happened after that? Seph hadn't had a chance to talk with him since. But he definitely didn't want Zack opening his mouth and letting even a _hair_ of the cat out of the bag.

"So!" he said, startling both Zack and Cloud. "Fireworks, huh? And then a band? Sounds good. You sticking around for it, Zack?" He already knew he and Cloud were in it for the duration. They weren't quitters!

"Er, yeah. Yeah, sure," Zack said, eyeing Seph suspiciously. "If I can find a _real_ girl to –" he stopped mid-sentence as a girl dressed as Kitty-chan ambled past their table, her skin-tight costume leaving little to the imagination, her tail swaying back and forth with her steps. "Hey!" he said, getting up and looking down at her as she stopped. "Are you a girl?"

"Last time I looked," she quipped, looking up into his face with a mischievous smile, whiskers twitching.

"Wanna get a drink?"

"Sure!"

And off they went.

Cloud watched them, then turned his head to look at Seph, who was grinning at him around a mouthful of salad. He chewed and swallowed.

"She'll be in love with him by ten," Seph said, chuckling.

"I think I need lessons," Cloud said, smiling.

A little silence took hold. Say, maybe … ten seconds.

"Really?" Seph said, his face matching the seriousness of his voice. He was remembering all the times Zack had coached him before the interminable 'dates'. _Lessons?_ Is that what those had been? He'd always filed them away under the heading of 'helpful hints' or 'battle plans'.

"No, not _really_," Cloud said, guffawing. But he stopped when another little silence crept into the conversation. "Uh …" he said, then stopped.

Seph leaned in, his curiosity getting the better of him, ignoring the little warning chime in his head. "Do you have trouble with girls?" he asked Cloud.

"No," Cloud said honestly. Never. Well, not since Tifa Lockhart. But that had been long ago, and it had shown him his path. His _gay_ path. He leaned forward, too. "Why, do you?" he asked in a low voice.

"Fuck yeah," Seph answered on an exhaled breath. "Zack sets me up with all these women, and for some reason or another, it never works out." He was still leaning in over the table. The lantern-light had cast a golden-orange glow over his pale skin and reflected in his glasses.

Cloud was entranced. And curious. And the flash of heat that erupted in his body at the thought of what Seph meant by 'it never works out' made his jaw clench. "What do ya mean?" he asked, voice low, also leaning in over the table. Their faces were very close.

From ten meters away, M. Kitano-sensei watched this conversation, wishing he could hear it. He was anonymous in the shadow of the palm trees, smoothing his sweaty palms over his yukata. What were they talking about so intimately?

Seph lowered his voice, too. "I mean it never works out! There's always something. They're too loud, or too giggly, or too much make-up, or too forward, or too whatever …." He frowned. "Zack says I just need to relax my standards. But I'm not even sure I fucking _have_ any standards! I just … ah, hell. I just want to be close to somebody. Somebody who understands me, likes what I like, and knows me for who I really am …." He stopped. His lips pursed. He straightened up a bit.

Cloud was staring at him, mouth open a bit, hanging on his every word. "And?"

Pause.

"Nothing. Forget about it," Seph said, picking up his bottle of oolong tea.

"No, man," Cloud said, still leaning in. "You're my friend, yeah? If I can help … or even just listen. Or something." He wasn't making much sense, he knew, but he just … he just wanted to hear what went on inside this tall, enigmatic man.

Sephiroth drank tea. _Somebody who knows who I really am_, he thought. _Riiight_. And here he was, in disguise, pretending he wasn't the General of the ShinRa Armies … pretending he was just another salary-man otaku, and hoping like hell that Cloud never found out any different. Shit. Could he open up about it?

No. _No_. Everything would change. _Everything_. He couldn't risk it. "Hey, Nimble … don't worry about it. It's nothing, really, like I said." He had smoothly shifted gears and was letting the General handle the backing-out of the conversation. "I'll figure it out, eventually." He grinned. Weakly, maybe, but hopefully Cloud wouldn't know that.

Cloud leaned back and looked at his daiquiri, then picked it up. He held it up like he was toasting Seph. "No problem, buddy," he said. _I have no right to ask what's inside ANYONE_, he thought. _I am the king of lies._ The _dirty_ king of lies.

Pause.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get another oolong … want another daiquiri?" Seph asked, getting to his feet with an easy smile.

"Sure! Make it a double," Cloud said, answering his smile.

Seph escaped.

XXX

Instead of going immediately to the bar, he turned a corner once he was out of sight of their table, and then made a beeline for the gated aperture that led to the beach. He slipped out unnoticed (or so he thought), and walked rapidly down the sandy surface to the edge of the ocean, stopping short of the waves' leading edge. Violence played a discordant tune under the stillness of his pose. He could kill something right now, he really could. Instead of unleashing magic on the moon, he turned and began walking down the beach, heading for an area where the surrounding jungle sent out a tentacle of palm trees and undergrowth onto the beach. When he reached it, he entered the shadows and stopped, resting his forehead against the rough bark of a leaning palm tree. He let out his breath all at once.

A scuffle behind him. "Who's there?" he barked, turning, reaching for the sword that wasn't there.

"It … it's just me, Seph-san," Sensei said.

XXX

Cloud became uneasy. Even allowing for the crowds that were starting to gather in the courtyard for the fireworks display, it had been an inordinately long time since Seph had gone to get drinks. He wanted to get up and go see what was up, but instead forced himself to wait … perhaps he'd run into Zack.

_Perhaps he ran into someone __**else**_, a small wicked voice said inside him. He drained the daiquiri and drummed his fingertips on the tabletop as he scanned the crowd. No beanie-topped, glasses-wearing tall man in sight.

_Don't be ridiculous_, another little voice said. _He's a grown man, he can take care of himself and doesn't need your permission to do whatever it is he's doing. _

_Maybe Zack set him up with another one of those women_, the first wicked voice said.

_Maybe he's just waiting in line for the bathroom!_ countered the second.

_Maybe you're just an idiot!_ returned the first.

"And maybe I'm kinda drunk," Cloud said out loud, wiping his lips with the back of his hand. Hearing voices. Greeaat. A new low. He got up, straining his neck to see over the crowd. No Seph. He walked to the bar, eyes on scan the whole way, saying hi to people he knew, either from town or from cons of the past. No Seph.

He went to the bathroom after discerning that he really needed to go. No Seph.

Had he left? What the hell.

When he returned to the courtyard, the crowd had visibly grown. He stood on the rim of a fountain, looking for his friend. No Seph. The gated doorway to the beach caught his eye. Had he stepped out for a bit? He obviously was no longer inside the hotel proper. It was worth a try. Cloud made his way through the crowd and slipped out the gate, much the same way Seph had before him.

There were a few people out on the beach. The staff had started a big welcoming fire in a stone-lined firepit roughly halfway between the hotel's walled courtyard and the water's edge. The fireworks barge was chugging out beyond the breakers, clearly visible in the moonlight, in order to get in position for the night's main event. Cloud joined the people at the fire. No Seph.

He looked one way down the beach. There were some homes in that direction, but the beach looked clear for as far as he could see. He looked the other way. Some trees and stuff blocked the view. He decided to walk down there and take a look. Couldn't hurt.

XXX

Seph was backed up against the trunk of the leaning palm tree, staring down at Sensei. Half-tempted to duck under it and get the safety of the trunk in between them, instead he faced the smaller man head-on. "Sensei," he said. "What are you doing out here?"

"I saw you leave, Seph-san, and decided to follow you. I'm sorry if I am invading a private moment?" the little guy asked, looking up at Seph. Moonlight dappled across his face even as it reflected off Seph's glasses.

"No … not _invading_," Seph said.

"Interrupting?" Sensei asked. "You have scheduled a rendezvous that I am intruding upon?"

_Suddenly he's so smooth_, Seph thought. Where was the stammering Sensei of earlier today? A little frown creased his forehead. "No. No rendezvous either."

"Good," Sensei said. He took a step closer. "I wondered if perhaps we could talk. About what happened earlier today … and about the future."

"The future," Sephiroth repeated.

"Yes."

There was a slight pause. "Continue." Was it curiosity or courtesy that prompted this reply? Sephiroth's demeanor gave off no clues.

"Thank you," Sensei's smile glimmered in the moonlight. He took another step closer. If he took one more, they'd be belly-to-belly. "You liked what I did to you today. Yes?"

Easy answer. No commitment attached to the reply. "Yes."

"I'm glad." Another smile. "I liked it too. I know I already told you that, but I want to make sure you understand that I really mean it. Even though you didn't do anything _to me_, just being with you and being able to touch you … it lit up my soul." His voice was low but it thrummed with emotion.

Sephiroth didn't answer. Kitano-san hadn't asked any questions. He looked at Sensei and waited for him to continue.

"We have much in common," the smaller male continued. "And you understand my work and the commitment it involves. I like the way you look, the way you talk, and the way you present yourself. I think these are all good indicators that we could … be a successful couple." Sensei put out a hand and laid it on Sephiroth's forearm. "Please, don't answer yet. I would like to present my case."

Seph nodded curtly.

The muscles under Sensei's fingers were tense. He began a slow stroking of that arm, like you'd calm an animal – soothing, asexual but tender. "I am gay," Sensei said unnecessarily. "I am not bisexual. I have never been with a woman, and I don't want to. It's not that I hate them, I just am not sexually attracted to them in any way, shape, or form." He paused. "I haven't been with a _lot_ of men, but I've had a few relationships and have learned from each of them. Not just things like sexual expertise, but how to treat my lover, how to behave, how to give of myself in all ways. I like to think that I'm a good partner. I strive to be," he added in a slightly pleading tone, and repeated it in a whisper. "_I strive to be_."

Sephiroth cleared his throat. "That's good," he said, and cleared the wince from his face before it even appeared.

Sensei chuckled, and somehow it was an earthy sensuous sound that resonated in Sephiroth's hip bones. "Thank you," Sensei said. His hand squeezed Seph's arm lightly, then continued the petting, but with more force, more like a massage now. "I like you. I like you very much, Seph-san."

Silence. Sephiroth shifted his weight, looking down at Sensei, at war within himself. Sensei's hand felt _very_ good. With only a tiny shift in his perspective, he could imagine it doing the same thing to his dick. With that thought, it twitched in his pants.

XXX

Cloud could hear someone talking as he neared the shadowy outgrowth of rain forest that jutted out onto the beach. He stopped. Was he interrupting something? He took a couple of steps closer. Silence. He came closer until he crossed the shadow's edge.

XXX

Sensei took that final step. His stomach came into contact with Sephiroth's crotch. He tilted his head back and looked up into that amazing face. Shadow hid most of the details. "Seph-san," he said, as his hands crept up Seph's arms and locked behind his neck. "Seph-san," he repeated, leaning up on tiptoe and pulling the taller man down. Their lips met. A shock of pleasure blossomed in Sensei's lower belly. He opened his mouth and licked Seph's soft lips, shuddering slightly as the pleasure spread in little pulsing waves. Ah, yes. This was what it was like to kiss someone that you were falling in love with. That you wanted so badly you dreamed of it, ached for it, thought of it night and day. Deliriously, he sucked on Seph's lower lip.

_I'm only a man_, Sephiroth thought. _I'm not made of stone_. That was becoming blatantly apparent as Mitsuo-kun's belly pressed insistently up against his hardening member. His mind, which had begun to ask questions like 'what was so different about this compared to the women?', became a blank. His awareness shrank down to the mouth that was kissing his, the soft undulations of Sensei's abdomen against his rapidly-engorging cock. A low groan stayed trapped in his throat. Still his hands remained on the trunk of the palm tree behind him. He could accept, apparently, but could he give?

Sensei, gasping with the strength of his desire, released Seph's lips and leaned back slightly, even as he still kept up the pressure below. "Seph-san," he breathed, as he slid his hands down Sephiroth's shoulders and onto his chest. He tugged on Seph's t-shirt and pulled it up, exposing his belly and pectorals. He caressed the taller man's tight nipples, leaned in and licked them one at a time. Seph's abdominal muscles tightened in response. "Seph-san," Mitsuo whispered, and began suckling on the left one as his hands dropped to the impressive bulge in the Sephiroth's jeans.

Sephiroth groaned again, unwillingly, and thrust his hips forward into Mitsuo-kun's eager hands. Sensei licked his way down Seph's belly, fingers fumbling at the button and zipper. He nibbled on taut flesh as the zipper relented and silken underwear was exposed, the hard dick inside outlined in stark relief. Mitsuo pressed a rough kiss to the silk, then nibbled hot flesh through the fabric.

"Whoops," a voice said. A horribly familiar voice. "Looks like I'm interrupting something."

Mitsuo-kun froze, then straightened and turned around. Sephiroth, recognizing the voice, lifted his head.

Cloud stood there in a shaft of moonlight, his blond spiked hair glowing like an angel's. Sephiroth's eyes widened as a spike of pleasure shot from his groin to his chest, making his fingers dig into the trunk of the palm tree against which he still leant. The moonlight _loved_ Cloud. His skin was aglow, his eyes glimmered softly, and that _hair!_ It looked like it was made of moonbeams, like he was the child of Diana, a misplaced god, fallen to Gaia.

The fact that Sephiroth had begun to wax poetic in this emergency didn't impress him with its irony.

"Sorry," Cloud said. But he didn't sound sorry. He sounded angry.

"Cloud-kun," Sensei said as he leaned back against Sephiroth, who was still staring at Cloud, eyes wide behind his glasses. "You are, indeed, interrupting, as you said."

Cloud did not reply. His eyes searched for and caught Seph's. They stared at each other.

Sephiroth's body gave a shudder when Cloud stepped closer. He couldn't say a word. What could he say? The visuals said it all. What could he do?

He could do what he always did in dangerous situations.

Mitsuo-kun, unaware of the turmoil taking place at his back, hurriedly chose the option he hoped would still bring him what he desired. "Cloud-kun," he said, holding up his hand. "Why don't you give us a few moments of privacy. Seph and I still have … things to discuss."

As though Seph belonged to him. As though Seph belonged to _him! _Cloud froze as shock and despair warred for dominance on his face.

If either of them had looked, they would have shut up immediately. Maybe they would have run away, knowing that any other option might find them battered and bloody on the ground. If they'd looked at Sephiroth's face, maybe things would have been different.

For Sephiroth wore the face of the General of the ShinRa Armies as he dashed headlong into battle. His intuition spiked along with his adrenaline. Magic flowed along the hidden routes under his skin. His fingers itched for the hilt of Masamune.

Cloud, now, only had eyes for Sensei, the little skank. His lids narrowed. "Things to discuss?"

Mitsuo-kun's hand came up to caress the face of the motionless man behind him. "Yes. Many things. Like our future. You understand."

"No," Cloud said, before he could stop himself. Or would he have? "You don't get to just have him like that."

"I don't?"

"No."

"You want him, don't you, Cloud-kun. You said you didn't, but you do." Sensei sounded like he pitied Cloud. His face, however, reflected triumph. He'd chosen his path.

Cloud clenched his fists. He started to speak, but was interrupted.

"Are you gay?" Sephiroth's voice was low and dangerous, intense.

"Yes, he is," Mitsuo answered. "Of course he is, Seph-san. He didn't tell you?" Touché.

Sephiroth didn't answer. Behind his glasses, his eyes began to glow slightly. One second he was pressed between Sensei and the tree trunk, the next he was at the edge of the shadows, behind Cloud. "I'm leaving," he spat.

Cloud whirled around, heart in his throat. What the hell? "Seph—"

"Shut it," Seph snapped, and his tone brooked no dispute. Cloud's lips sealed themselves. "Don't either one of you follow me. Not if you want to _live_." And just like that, he was gone – poof! – like magic.

Cloud and Sensei gaped. They gasped. They spun in place, looking around. But Seph was nowhere to be found.

They stared at each other. Sensei sighed, straightened his yukata, and walked away. He couldn't be absolutely sure, of course, but he sensed that Seph's anger was directed toward Cloud, not himself. And if that was the case, he'd won this round. And that meant, he still had a chance.

Cloud watched him walk away. Despair drowned every other emotion in his heart. He sank to his knees in the soft sand. A loud bang startled him, and his eyes jerked upward as a large firework blossomed against the starry sky. "Seph?" he whispered, looking up at it. "Whitey?" It faded to black.

_How appropriate_, he thought.

After a while, he got to his feet, stumbled back across the sand, and went back to their table. He retrieved both his and Seph's bags, then left the hotel as the band played merrily and the fireworks blazed overhead. He didn't know what else to do. On the way home, he stopped at a convenience store and bought a bottle of whiskey, the strongest he could find.

Really … what else could he do?

XXX

End Chapter 6

Sorry for such a long wait, my lovelies! Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

Uh-oh … one of the cats is out of the bag! Poor Cloud … wish I could comfort him. ;) LOL

Update soon! And I mean it, this one's burning its way out of me again. :D

Ahvienda


End file.
